Rematch: Joey vs Kaiba & Yugi vs Kaiba
by Cere
Summary: Joey's been practicing since Battle City and he's ready to take on Kaiba again. And now, due to popular demand, Yugi vs. Kaiba!
1. The Challenge

_Note: Though this story uses the English names, some inspiration is taken from the Japanese version, mainly in the fact that Kaiba is less of a jerk. All cards work as they do on the show. This story is set after Battle City._

**Rematch: Joey vs. Kaiba  
By Cere**

**Chapter 1: The Challenge**

"Wow, this is amazing!" Joey exclaimed.

Yugi had to agree as he looked around the newly completed Kaiba Land. There were tons of Duel Monsters-themed rides, like bumper cars, a merry-go-round, spinning rides, and even a roller coaster. There was also an arcade, a gift shop (which sold Duel Monsters cards), and people dressed in Duel Monsters costumes.

"Even though he's a jerk at times, he knows how to build a theme park," Tristan said.

"It seems like the entire city is here," Tea said.

Yugi nodded. Excited cries of children filled the air. Today was the grand opening of Kaiba Land. After Battle City had finished, Kaiba had spent almost all of the fall and winter overseeing the construction of this place. Now that spring had finally appeared, Kaiba announced the opening of his new theme park.

"All right," Joey said, resting a hand on the Duel Disk on his wrist, "where's that Kaiba?"

Yugi chuckled. The part of Kaiba's announcement that had interested Joey the most was that Kaiba would be wandering around Kaiba Land and would duel anyone who challenged him. Joey had been practicing a lot and perfecting his deck during the last few months, but Yugi still didn't know if he could compete with Kaiba.

"Hey, Yugi!" a familiar voice called. Yugi turned to see Mokuba Kaiba, who had called his name, and Seto standing next to him.

"I expected you to come here," Kaiba said, looking at Yugi. "It's been a while since I've dueled the other Yugi."

"Wait just a minute, Kaiba," Joey said, stepping in front of Yugi. "Your first opponent will be me."

"You?" Kaiba asked.

"I've been practicing," Joey said, holding up his deck. "I'm ready for a rematch."

"I beat you once. I don't need to do it again."

"Yugi's beat you, too, but you don't let that stop you."

This made Kaiba pause. He had never considered that someone thought of him the same way he thought of Yugi.

"C'mon," Joey said, "you know you want to."

"You aren't worth my time," Kaiba said less conviction than he wanted.

"I made it to the Battle City finals," Joey said. "I survived an attack from a God card."

"Not really," Kaiba said. "You still fell down, even if it wasn't right away."

"He's improved a lot, Kaiba," Yugi said.

"Besides," Mokuba chimed in, "you said you'd duel anyone who challenged you."

Kaiba considered for a moment, staring at the determined duelist across from him. "Fine," he said, raising his Duel Disk and drawing his first five cards, "but you'd better give me a good challenge."

"I plan to," Joey replied with a smile. He drew his cards and looked at his hand. He had only drawn one monster, but he still had good cards. "I summon Alligator Sword (1500/1200) in defense mode and place two cards facedown." A reptilian warrior appeared, resting on its knees, and two large cards materialized behind it. "Your turn."

"Is that all you have?" Kaiba said, pulling a card from his deck. He already knew what he was going to do. "I play Pot of Greed," he said, sliding the Magic card into his Duel Disk, "and draw two more cards." He smiled when he saw what they were.

"Can you even last one turn against me?" Kaiba asked.

"What?" Joey replied.

"I summon Lord of Dragons (1200/1100) to the field and play the Magic card Flute of Summoning Dragon." A cloaked wizard wearing dragon bone armor appeared on the field holding a horn carved with a dragon's head. He brought the horn to his lips and a pure sound resounded around the duel arena. "This lets me summon two Dragons from my hand."

"I know how the card works," Joey protested.

"Then welcome my Spear Dragon (1900/0) and Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)!" A blue bat-winged dragon with a sharp snout and Kaiba's trademark monster appeared next to Lord of Dragons. Joey inhaled sharply. Kaiba had summoned three monsters in one turn, and their combined attack power was enough to wipe him out.

"All right, brother!" Mokuba shouted.

"Spear Dragon," Kaiba announced, "attack his Alligator. Even though it's in defense mode, Spear Dragon will still cause damage to your Life Points."

"But you have to hit it first," Joey countered. "Activate Trap, Fairy Box." A box appeared around Alligator Sword. There were several holes in the top of the box, and Joey's monster started poking its head out of them. Kaiba grimaced. He only had a small chance of actually hitting Alligator Sword with his attack.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Joey taunted.

"Attack that hole," Kaiba ordered, pointing at the closest corner of the Fairy Box. Spear Dragon released a destructive tornado from his mouth and shattered a part of the box. However, Joey's Life Points were unaffected.

"Looks like you missed," said Joey with a smile.

"I won't next time," Kaiba said. "My Blue-Eyes has enough power to destroy your entire box. Blue-Eyes, White Lightning Attack!"

Joey covered his eyes as a bright light shot from the Blue-Eyes's mouth and wiped out his entire Fairy Box. He peeked up and saw a brief glimpse of his Alligator Sword being destroyed.

"Now, Lord of Dragons will attack your Life Points directly," Kaiba said.

Joey stepped back as Kaiba's monster rushed up and punched him in the stomach (J LP: 2800). He took a while to catch his breath as Lord of Dragons returned to his owner.

"I'll also set this card face-down," Kaiba said. "Your turn."

_This is bad,_ Joey thought. _I wasn't hoping for him to get such a good start._ He drew a card and smiled. _All right, now I can take out his Blue-Eyes._

"First, I play the Magic card Foolish Burial," Joey said, "which allows me to take any monster from my deck and put it in your graveyard, and the monster I choose is Gilford the Lightning."

"Why would you want to put your monster in my graveyard?" Kaiba asked, holding out his hand.

"Oh, don't worry, Kaiba," Joey replied. "It's not going to stay in there for long, for I now play Monster Reborn and summon Gilford to the field." Joey slapped the card onto his Duel Disk and the mighty warrior Gilford (2800/1400) stepped onto the field. His white armor gleamed and his red cape flapped in the wind. There was a sense of dazzling power about the monster, and his sword crackled as he drew it and prepared for battle.

"I don't know what you're planning to do with that monster, Wheeler," Kaiba said. "It's weaker than my Blue-Eyes." The dragon roared in agreement.

"That's where my other monster comes in," Joey said. "Go, Rocket Warrior (1500/1300)." A rocket with arms and legs appeared next to Gilford. "Now, Rocket Warrior, go into invincible mode and attack Kaiba's Blue-Eyes, lowering its ATK by 500 points." Rocket Warrior's limbs slotted into its body and it launched itself towards Kaiba's monster.

"I won't let you touch my Blue-Eyes," Kaiba shouted. "Activate Trap card, Ring of Destruction."

A metal ring with grenades bolted to it flew from its virtual card, slipped around Rocket Warrior, and exploded before the rocket could reach Blue-Eyes. When the smoke cleared, both of their Life Points were heavily damaged (K LP: 2500) (J LP: 1300).

Joey cursed under his breath. Not only did he lose a lot of Life Points, but also now he couldn't attack Blue-Eyes. He'd have to settle for another monster. "Gilford, attack Kaiba's Spear Dragon." The warrior carried out his wishes and sliced through Kaiba's monster.

"Why did he do that?" Tristan asked. "Because that dragon was in defense mode, Joey didn't do any damage to Kaiba's Life Points. If he had attacked Lord of Dragons, he would have hurt Kaiba a lot."

"But he knows that he'll be attacked next turn," Yugi answered. "He got rid of Kaiba's monster with the most attack points. Unfortunately, it's not going to be enough."

Joey looked at his facedown card still on the field. He could tie this game if he wanted to, but he really wanted to beat Kaiba. His gaze shifted to the remaining card in his hand. Maybe this would help.

"For my last move," Joey announced, "I'll play this Magic card, Mirage of Nightmare." The virtual card appeared on the field. "This will let me draw cards during your next turn so that I have four cards in my hand."

"Yes, but then you'll have to discard most of them during the next turn," Kaiba said, "and it will be too late by then anyway. My turn."

As Kaiba drew a card, Joey pulled four cards from his deck. His eyes widened as he saw the last card that he drew. He knew a way to bring things back into his favor.

Kaiba merely glanced at his card as he placed it in his hands. "Blue-Eyes, attack his Gilford." Gilford attempted to shield itself with its sword, but Blue-Eyes's attack was too great. Joey (J LP: 1100) was left with no monsters on the field. "Now, Lord of Dragons, finish him off."

to be continued...


	2. BlueEyes vs RedEyes

**Rematch: Joey vs. Kaiba  
By Cere**

**Chapter 2: Blue-Eyes vs. Red-Eyes**

"Blue-Eyes, attack his Gilford," Kaiba ordered (K LP: 2500). Gilford attempted to shield itself with its sword, but Blue-Eyes's attack was too great. Joey (J LP: 1100) was left with no monsters on the field. "Now, Lord of Dragons, finish him off."

As the Spellcaster ran towards Joey, he pressed a button on his Duel Disk and pointed to his facedown card. "Then I guess I'll have to activate my Trap card, Graverobber," he said. "It allows me to steal one of the cards in your graveyard and use it."

A purple gremlin in green clothes with digging equipment on its back appeared with a card in its hands. _What card did he grab?_ Kaiba wondered. With a cackle, the gremlin turned the card around to reveal…Flute of Summoning Dragon.

"That's right," Joey said. "Now I can summon a Dragon from my hand."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed in thought. Which dragon did Joey have…could it be?

"Say hello to my good old Red-Eyes Black Dragon," Joey said. The sleek black dragon materialized on the field and gave a welcome roar. Then it turned its crimson eyes to the monster heading towards Joey.

_No,_ Kaiba thought, _it's too late to stop my monster's attack._

"Now, Red-Eyes," Joey said with a broad smile, "counterattack Lord of Dragons." A ball of red energy appeared in Red-Eyes's mouth and fired outward, engulfing Kaiba's monster and destroying it. Kaiba grimaced (K LP: 1300).

Joey flashed a thumbs-up. "Good job, Red-Eyes."

"Wait," Kaiba said. "Yugi had that monster the last time I saw it. How did you get it back?"

"I won it from Yugi," Joey said.

"You beat the other Yugi?" Kaiba asked in disbelief.

"Nah," Joey replied. "We tied, but he felt that was good enough."

Kaiba smiled. "That's very impressive, Joey," he said, "but it's not going to help you. Your Red-Eyes is weaker than my Blue-Eyes."

"We'll see about that, Kaiba," Joey said. "I've put my heart into that monster, the same way you've put your heart into yours."

"Then let's see who's heart is stronger," Kaiba said. "I place one card and one monster facedown on the field and end my turn."

"All right, here we go," Joey said, drawing a card from his deck.

"Don't forget about your Magic card, Wheeler," Kaiba said, pointing to Joey's Mirage of Nightmare. "Now you have to discard your entire hand."

"Not so fast," Joey said. "Before that happens, I'll play Emergency Provisions from my hand. It lets me send my Magic card to the graveyard and gain 1000 Life Points in the process." The Mirage of Nightmare card dissolved into glowing particles that fluttered onto Joey's Life Point counter (J LP: 2100).

"Hey, now Joey has more Life Points than Kaiba," Tea said.

"Yeah, but let's see how long he can keep them," Tristan warned. Yugi nodded in agreement.

_I'd better not let Kaiba get a lot of monsters on the field,_ Joey thought. "Red-Eyes, attack Kaiba's facedown monster." His dragon expelled a fireball at its target. The card image flipped up to reveal a gigantic cell, Giant Germ (1000/100). The fireball effortlessly destroyed the monster, but Joey knew that that wasn't a good thing.

"Since you destroyed my Giant Germ," Kaiba said, searching through his deck, "you lose 500 Life Points. Also, I can summon two more Germs from my deck to the field."

_Dang,_ Joey thought (J LP: 1600). _Now he has even more monsters on the field._

"Are you done?" Kaiba asked. "My Blue-Eyes is waiting to destroy your dragon."

"Not yet," Joey said. "I'll set this card facedown."

_It must be a Trap intended to protect his Red-Eyes,_ Kaiba thought as he saw the virtual card appear. _I'll make him waste it._

"My turn," Kaiba said, drawing a card. "First, I'll switch my Giant Germs to defense mode. Then, Blue-Eyes, attack his inferior dragon."

Blue-Eyes powered up its White Lightning and released the stream of destructive energy towards Joey's monster. "You're gonna regret that," Joey said. "I activate my Trap card, Skull Dice. If I roll any number other than one, your Blue-Eyes will lose."

A little gremlin appeared from Joey's Trap card and threw its red die onto the field. The die rolled along the ground until it slowed to a stop, revealing five dots on its top face.

"All right," Joey said, "now your Blue-Eyes only has 800 ATK. Red-Eyes, counterattack!"

Blue-Eyes's White Lightning withered and harmlessly splashed against Red-Eyes's chest. Then Red-Eyes released its own attack of red energy back at Blue-Eyes.

"Kaiba's gonna lose," Tristan exclaimed.

"I don't think so," Yugi said. "He doesn't look worried."

Kaiba merely smirked as Red-Eyes's attack approached his monster. Smoke erupted when the two met, temporarily clouding the arena.

"All right," Joey said. "Did I get him?"

As the smoke gradually drifted away, several shapes could be seen. One of them was Kaiba, but standing next to him was a strange machine on a tripod of some sort. Joey instantly recognized what it was.

"You almost had me, Wheeler," Kaiba said, "but I was able to activate my Interdimensional Matter Transporter to transport my Blue-Eyes out of harm's way just in time. Now, Blue-Eyes, return to the field."

Kaiba's dragon poked its head out of an interdimensional portal and flew back onto the field, as strong as ever. "I knew you had a Trap hidden," Kaiba said. "It's the only way you can protect your weak dragon, since it's not strong enough to fight for itself."

"But you still couldn't destroy it," Joey retorted.

"Not this turn," Kaiba said, "but next turn I'll wipe it out."

Joey drew a card from his deck. _All right,_ he thought, _just what I needed._

"I play the Magic card, Dragon Nails," he announced. Large steel claws appeared and attached themselves to Red-Eyes's hands. "This will raise my monster's attack strength by 600 points, giving it 3000 attack points. Now it's equal to your Blue-Eyes."

"But that won't help you much," Kaiba said. "When monsters with equal attack strength battle each other, both are destroyed."

"Normally, that's what happens," Joey said, "but I can change things with my other Magic card, Kishido Spirit. Now, when monsters with the same strength attack each other, mine will always win. So, Red-Eyes, attack Kaiba's Blue-Eyes."

The two dragons unleashed streams of energy at each other. The streams collided in the center, sending shock waves around the playing field. The shock waves reflected back at Blue-Eyes and destroyed it, but Red-Eyes stood triumphant.

Kaiba cursed under his breath. Wheeler had actually managed to defeat his most powerful monster.

"It's your turn, Kaiba," Joey said. "Not that there's much you can do against my Red-Eyes."

"We'll see," Kaiba said, whipping a card from his deck. He smiled when he saw it. "Now, I'll sacrifice my two Giant Germs in order to summon my second Blue-Eyes White Dragon." The germs disappeared and Kaiba's grand monster again appeared on the field.

"Have you gone bonkers?" Joey asked. "I'll just defeat that monster like I did your last one."

_What is Kaiba up to?_ Yugi wondered. _He wouldn't have sacrificed two monsters capable of dealing damage to Joey's Life Points only to summon a monster that would easily be defeated. He must have something more in store for Joey._

"Wheeler, you may have a strong monster on the field," Kaiba said, "but my Blue-Eyes is still stronger than your dragon. Your dragon requires Magic cards in order to become powerful, while my dragon has all of its power built right in."

"Part of Duel Monsters is combining your monster cards and your Magic cards," Joey said. "Yugi taught me that."

"True," Kaiba said, "but it also means that your monster's power can be taken away. I play the Magic card, Heavy Storm! This will destroy every Magic card on the field, removing the advantage you had over me."

"Oh no," Joey said as his Magic cards were blown away.

"Now, Blue-Eyes," Kaiba said, "attack his Red-Eyes and show him which dragon is superior."

Joey's dragon was incapable of withstanding the barrage of white energy. Joey (J LP: 1000) grimaced and looked at Kaiba.

"I must admit," Kaiba said, "you had a nice trick there, but it wasn't able to give you the duel."

"Then just wait," Joey said. "I have more tricks."

to be continued...


	3. Standoff

**Rematch: Joey vs. Kaiba  
By Cere**

**Chapter 3: Standoff**

"I must admit," Kaiba said (K LP: 1300), "you had a nice trick there, but it wasn't able to give you the duel."

"Then just wait," Joey said (J LP: 1000). "I have more tricks."

Kaiba huffed. "Just take your turn."

Joey looked at the one remaining card in his hand. He needed a good draw or he wouldn't be able to pull this off. His hand rested on the top card of his deck, willing it to be a good card. His wish was rewarded as he drew the card and looked at it.

"I play the Magic card Reinforcements of the Army," Joey said, "which allows me to take a Warrior monster from my deck and put it in my hand." He pulled his deck from his Duel Disk and searched through it. He knew just the monster to look for.

"I choose the monster Marauding Captain, which I now summon." The Captain (1200/400) appeared on the field, shouldering its sword. "Now its first special ability kicks in, letting me summon another monster from my hand. And that monster is another Marauding Captain."

Kaiba groaned as Wheeler's other monster was summoned. "I know what this means," Kaiba said. "Marauding Captain's other ability is that it prevents me from attacking other Warriors. So, since you have two of them on the field, I can't attack either of them."

"That's right," Joey said. "I'm safe."

"For now," Kaiba said. "Defenses don't win duels, and they eventually always fall."

_I know,_ Joey thought. He looked at his two monsters on the field. _Please give me enough time to mount a counterattack,_ he mentally asked of them.

"I'm sure you can do it, bro," Mokuba cheered. "Don't give up!"

"All right, Joey!" Tea shouted. "Way to go!" She gave a teasing smile to her rival cheerleader.

"My turn," Kaiba said. He needed a way to destroy one of Joey's Captains. Once that happened, Joey's defensive lock would be broken. He drew a card and smiled. This could be very helpful.

"I set one card facedown on the field," Kaiba said. "Then I play Card of Demise, which lets me draw until I have five cards in my hand."

"Don't forget the drawback," Yugi said. "Five turns later, you'll have to discard every card in your hand."

"It should be over by then," Kaiba said. He pulled five cards from his deck and analyzed them. They weren't the best cards, but he should be able to work with them.

"For now, I'll just summon Y-Dragon Head in defense mode," he said. The red mechanical dragon (1500/1600) appeared on the field next to Kaiba's Blue-Eyes. "That ends my turn."

Joey giggled. "All right," he said, "you didn't draw any useful cards, or else you would have done more than that."

"Patience, Wheeler," Kaiba said. "I'll defeat you eventually."

"You're all talk," Joey said, drawing a card. "I play Pot of Greed and draw two cards. And unlike you, they're good cards that I'll play right away. First is the Magic card Dangerous Machine Type-6, followed by Little-Winguard (1400/1800) in defense mode." A large spheroid machine and a blue warrior with wings on his armor materialized on the field. "That's all for now."

"What does that machine of Joey's do?" Tristan asked.

"A variety of things," Yugi replied. "During each of his turns, those slots will rotate and reveal a number. Depending on what the number is, an effect will activate. It could help him or hurt him."

"That's a risky card," Kaiba said.

"I like a little risk in my duels," Joey said.

"I prefer dependable cards," Kaiba said. He drew a card from his deck, placed it in his hand, and grabbed the card next to it. "I summon Z-Metal Tank in defense mode and end my turn." The yellow machine (1500/1300) appeared next to Kaiba's other monsters.

_Now I know what Kaiba's up to,_ Yugi thought. _If he can summon all three XYZ monsters and combine them into the XYZ-Dragon Cannon, its special ability can destroy one of Joey's Marauding Captains and break his defensive lock. I hope Joey can think of something before then._

"My move," Joey said, drawing a card. "Now my Dangerous Machine will activate." The slots on his machine started spinning, eventually stopping on the number "3". "All right, that means that I can draw another card." He pulled another card from his deck and looked over his hand. "I'll summon Swordsman of Landstar (500/1200) in defense mode and set one card facedown."

Kaiba drew a card. This could help him get the card he needed. "I play the Magic card Graceful Charity," he announced. "This lets me draw three cards and then discard two cards from my hand."

"Drawing cards again," Joey said. "Haven't you learned yet that nothing in your deck can stop me?"

"On the contrary," Kaiba said. "I've drawn just the cards that I needed. Now my attack begins. First, I'll discard X-Head Cannon and Cost Down from my hand."

"You just discarded a useful monster," Joey said. "I thought you were a good strategist."

"I am," Kaiba said. "That useful monster is going to come back to the field, thanks to my Magic card, Silent Doom." A blue and yellow robot with shoulder-mounted cannons (1800/1500) appeared on the field in defense mode. "And now, with all three XYZ monsters on the field, I can combine them together into the XYZ-Dragon Cannon (2800/2600)!" Joey watched with worry as the three mechanical monsters combined and stood next to Kaiba's Blue-Eyes. He knew that the special ability of that monster meant trouble for him.

"XYZ-Dragon Cannon has a very useful effect," Kaiba said. "By discarding a card from my hand, I can destroy any card on the field." He took a card from his hand and slipped it into the Graveyard on his Duel Disk. "And the card I wish to destroy is one of your Marauding Captains!" The XYZ-Dragon Cannon charged up its multiple laser cannons and fired at Joey's Captain, shattering him to pieces.

"Next, I'll summon Blade Knight (1600/1000)," Kaiba said, "and now my attack army is complete. Blade Knight, attack Joey's other Marauding Captain." Joey grimaced as his monster was sliced in two. "Now, Dragon Cannon, destroy his Little-Winguard." The mechanical combination fired up its cannons once again.

"Not so fast," Joey said. "I activate my face-down card, Magic Arm Shield." A red and white shield attached to Swordsman of Landstar's shield. As the Dragon Cannon fired, a pincher reached out of the shield, grabbed Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and pulled it into the direction of the attack. "Now you're forced to attack your own Blue-Eyes," Joey said, "an attack that's sure to lose."

"Then I'll change who I'm attacking," Kaiba said. "I activate my face-down card, Attack Guidance Armor." Spiked armor appeared around Joey's Little-Winguard. "That armor will draw my monster's attack, so your monster will still be destroyed."

Joey frowned as his blue warrior was wiped out. At least the effect of Magic Arm Shield meant that Kaiba's Blue-Eyes was on his side of the field and therefore couldn't attack him. Still, his best defense was now gone, and he had to come up with something great next turn.

"I don't like seeing my dragon in your hands," Kaiba said. "So I'll end my turn and have it return to my side of the field."

Joey started sweating as Kaiba's three monsters stared at him, and all he had was his Swordsman of Landstar. _Kaiba is really good,_ he thought, _but I know my deck can pull through. I just need to draw a good card._ He smirked as he saw which card he drew. This was going to be interesting.

"Once again, my Dangerous Machine will activate," Joey said. The slots spun around and again stopped on "3". "I guess this is my lucky day," he said, pulling another card from his deck.

"Real duelists don't rely on luck," Kaiba said.

"A duelist can rely on whatever he wants," Joey retorted, "which is why I'm switching my Swordsman into attack mode."

"Are you crazy?" Kaiba asked. "Any of my monsters can take out that weakling."

"Not after I play this," Joey said, holding up the Magic card Graceful Dice. "Depending on the roll of the die, my monster could become as strong as your Blue-Eyes."

A tuxedoed sprite with a winged hat appeared and threw a large blue die across the ground. Both duelists watch anxiously as the die slowly rolled to a stop, six black dots facing upwards.

"All right!" Joey exclaimed. "My Swordsman now has 3000 attack points!" The Swordsman's sword grew in length to match its entire body. "Now, Swordsman, attack Kaiba's Blue-Eyes and rid the field of that monster."

Kaiba's monster released its White Lightning attack as Joey's monster rushed towards it. The Swordsman was destroyed in the blast, but its sword flew out of its hands and lodged into the Blue-Eyes heart, causing it the dissolve into pieces. Neither player's Life Points were affected (K LP: 1300) (J LP: 1000).

"All right," Joey said again, flashing a thumbs-up.

"Joey, you numbskull," Tristan shouted. "Why did you attack his Blue-Eyes? Now you have no monster on the field."

"Uh," Joey said, speechless.

Tea smacked her forehead. "If you had attacked his Blade Knight, you would have taken Kaiba's Life Points down to zero and won the game." Joey fell to the ground in shock.

Yugi shook his head in disbelief. Joey was a good duelist, but sometimes he got a little carried away.

Kaiba smirked, but he was rattled inside. _If Joey had had some sense,_ he thought, _I really would have lost the duel right then. I can't underestimate this guy._

"Hey," Joey said, picking himself back up, "at least I destroyed his Blue-Eyes. Now I don't have to worry about that monster anymore."

"No," Tristan said, "but you have his other two monsters to worry about."

"Don't worry," Joey said, waving the card left in his hand. "This Trap card will protect me." He slipped the card into his Duel Disk.

"You really shouldn't announce your plans," Kaiba said, drawing a card. "I'll play the Magic card Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy your Trap card before you can activate it, leaving a direct path to your Life Points."

Joey's friends looked on in worry as a typhoon of wind erupted from Kaiba's virtual card and headed for Joey's facedown card. However, Joey wasn't worried at all. "Too bad, Kaiba," Joey said. "I'm gonna activate my Magic card before you can destroy it."

_Magic card?_ Kaiba thought.

"Go, Scapegoat!" Joey announced. The card flipped face-up and four brightly colored goats sprung from the card before Kaiba's typhoon ripped through it.

Kaiba chuckled and put his hand to his face. "You told me that it was a Trap card so I'd waste my card trying to get rid of it," he said.

"Bingo," Joey said.

Kaiba laughed out loud. "That was a good deception," he said, "but it's still just another temporary defense. When will you attack me?"

_Soon,_ Joey thought, _…I hope._

"Your goats won't last long," Kaiba said. "I summon Vorse Raider (1900/1200) and have all three of my monsters attack three of yours."

When the barrage was done, Joey only had one blue Scapegoat left on the field, sleepily oblivious to the destruction going on around it. That one monster wouldn't be enough to protect him the next turn.

to be continued...


	4. Who Plays His Cards Best

**Rematch: Joey vs. Kaiba  
By Cere **

**Chapter 4: Who Plays His Cards Best**

"Your goats won't last long," Kaiba said (K LP: 1300). "I summon Vorse Raider (1900/1200) and have all three of my monsters attack three of yours."

When the barrage was done, Joey only had one blue Scapegoat left on the field, sleepily oblivious to the destruction going on around it. That one monster wouldn't be enough to protect him the next turn.

"My turn," Joey said (J LP: 1000). _C'mon,_ he thought, _it's time to turn this duel around._ He drew a card and looked at it. He still wasn't off the hook yet.

"Once again, my Dangerous Machine will activate," Joey said.

"There's no way you'll get the same result three times in a row," Kaiba said. "You're bound to get a negative result soon."

"But not this time," Joey said as the rotating numbers stopped on "5". "Now, I get to destroy one of your monsters."

"What?" Kaiba asked in outrage.

"That's right," Joey said. "Say goodbye to your Dragon Cannon."

A red beam shot out of Joey's machine and pierced through Kaiba's monster, shattering it to pieces. _Perhaps I should have destroyed that Dangerous Machine with my Dragon Cannon earlier,_ Kaiba thought, _instead of waiting for it to backfire on him._

"And then," Joey said, "I'll play the Magic card Roll of Fate. This card rolls another die. Depending on the result, I'll get to draw that many cards and then remove that same amount of cards from my deck."

"What is it with you and dice?" Kaiba commented.

"Yeah," Tristan said, "you're gonna give Duke a run for his money." Joey glowed at the compliment. "Too bad he always beats you at Dungeon Dice Monsters," Tristan continued.

"Hey!" Joey protested.

"Pay attention to the game, Joey," Yugi said. "You just rolled a three."

"Oh," Joey said, turning towards Kaiba. "That means that I draw three cards" – which he did – "and remove three cards from play." He noted the three cards he removed before slipping them into his pocket. "Now, Kaiba, my counterattack begins."

"Finally," Kaiba said.

"I summon Panther Warrior (2000/1600) in attack mode," Joey said, "and sacrifice my last Scapegoat so that he can attack." The blue goat turned into a glowing ball of light and was absorbed into the purple panther's sword. "Now, I attack your…wait a minute."

"What's wrong?" Kaiba asked.

"I was about to attack your Blade Knight," Joey said, "but then I remembered your monster's effect. It gains 400 attack points when you have only one card in your hand. If I attacked it with my Panther Warrior, they would tie. So, I'll attack your Vorse Raider instead."

Kaiba didn't show a bit of worry as his monster was defeated (K LP: 1200). "Is that all?" he asked.

Suddenly, Joey got a strange look on his face. He squinted his eyes and stared intently at Kaiba. "What is it?" Kaiba asked incredulously. Joey started counting on his fingers slowly, and then a wicked smile spread across his face.

"I'll set this card facedown," Joey said, still smiling, "and end my turn."

_What is he up to?_ Kaiba wondered. _Is he bluffing again?_

"My move," Kaiba said, drawing a card. "I sacrifice my Blade Knight in order to summon Luster Dragon #2 (2400/1400)." Kaiba's knight disappeared and was replaced by a tall emerald dragon whose body shone in the sunlight. "Attack Joey's panther, my dragon."

The dragon reached out and swallowed Panther Warrior in one gulp. Joey (J LP: 600) grimaced at this turn of events. Kaiba's Blue-Eyes wasn't his only monster to worry about. Hopefully, his facedown card would help.

_So it wasn't a Trap,_ Kaiba thought. "I end my-"

"Wait a minute, Kaiba," Joey said. "Before you end your turn, I'm gonna activate my facedown card first."

"What?"

"It's the Magic card Card of Sanctity," Joey said as the virtual card flipped upward.

Kaiba shrugged his shoulders. "So we both draw until we have six cards in our hands," he said. "What good did it do you to wait and activate it now?"

"Don't you know what turn it is?"

"No, I-" Suddenly, the answer hit him. "It's the fifth turn after I played Card of Demise."

"Exactly," Joey said, smiling broadly. "While I get to keep the cards I draw, you'll have to discard all of your cards."

"Oh no," Mokuba said.

"Excellent strategy, Joey!" Yugi shouted.

"Way to go!" Tristan added.

Kaiba laughed. "Why do I keep underestimating you?" he said, drawing five cards from his deck. "You found a way to unbalance a balanced card. However, your strategy isn't perfect. I can still save some cards by setting them on the field." He slipped two cards into his Duel Disk. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn."

As Kaiba discarded every card in his hand, Joey thought he caught a glimpse of one of the cards. "Did you just discard a Blue-Eyes?" Joey asked, grinning.

"Yes, I did," Kaiba said. "You defeated my third Blue-Eyes before I even summoned it."

Joey giggled. "All right," he said, "now I don't have to worry about your Blue-Eyes anymore."

"Until I draw my Monster Reborn," Kaiba added.

"Whatever," Joey said, drawing another card to add to the six in his hand. "All right, Dangerous Machine, it's time to destroy another of his monsters."

"You can't tell it what to do," Kaiba said.

"No, but I can ask."

"Well, your request failed. You rolled a one."

"Aw, man," Joey said. "That means I have to discard a card from my hand."

Kaiba smiled. _Finally._

"That's not all you'll be discarding," Kaiba said as Joey removed a card from his hand, "for I activate the Trap card Power Balance. Since I have no cards in my hand, this card will make our hands equal by making you discard half of your hand and making me draw the same amount of cards."

Joey frowned as Kaiba drew three cards. Kaiba had dealt with his great idea with little effort. Joey grumbled and discarded three more cards from his hand.

"Don't worry, Joey," Tea said, noticing his sad expression. "You're not done yet."

Joey smiled a little. "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800/1600), set a card facedown, and end my turn," he said.

_I know that this is a Trap this time,_ Kaiba thought, drawing a card, _but I can't do anything about it._ "I summon Kaiser Seahorse," he said. A sea warrior covered in blue armor and wielding a strange spear (1700/1650) appeared on the field. "Luster Dragon, attack his Iron Knight."

As the dragon reached over to snatch another of his monsters, Joey smiled. "I can't let you do that," Joey said. "Go, Kunai with Chain!" The Trap card flipped up and a chained Kunai shot out and intercepted Kaiba's monster, forcing it to back down. "This card lets me change your monster into defense mode."

_Good,_ Kaiba thought. _It wasn't a serious Trap._

"Wait," Tristan said, "doesn't that card also normally turn into an Equipment card for one of Joey's monsters?"

"Yes," Yugi said, "but Gearfried can't have Equipment cards, so only Kunai with Chain's first effect was able to happen."

_It was good enough,_ Joey thought.

Kaiba surveyed the cards in his hand. An idea occurred to him. "I'll set one card facedown before ending my turn," he said.

"All right," Joey said, "it's time to destroy your monster. But first, don't forget my Dangerous Machine."

The numbers spun around and came to rest on "6". Joey's eyes widened and he could only muster an "eep" before the machine exploded and clouded his side of the field with smoke.

Kaiba laughed, a more sinister laugh. "Looks like your luck ran out. Your machine just self-destructed."

Joey grimaced and swept the smoke away from his eyes. "I'll still destroy your monster," he said. "Gearfried, attack his Luster Dragon!" He smiled. "My attack is higher than your monster's defense."

"Then I'll just switch my monster to attack mode," Kaiba said. "I activate my Trap card, Final Attack Orders. This changes every monster on the field to attack mode."

Joey whimpered as Luster Dragon stretched up from its crouch and roared at the approaching monster. _Gearfried's gonna lose,_ he thought. In desperation, he looked at his hand, and he saw a way out of this.

"Luster Dragon, destroy his monster," Kaiba ordered.

Suddenly, a black cloud appeared above the battling monsters and a bolt of lightning shot down, striking Gearfried. "What just happened?" Kaiba asked.

"I activated my Magic card, Lightning Blade," Joey said. "It gives my Warrior monster a one-turn 800 point attack increase. So, now it's stronger than your dragon!"

The electrified Gearfried cut through Kaiba's monster with ease (K LP: 1000). "Looks like I foiled one of your plans, too," Joey said.

Kaiba smirked. He had lost one fight, but not the war. His Final Attack Orders card would stay on the field, preventing Joey from placing monsters in defense mode. His stronger monsters would eventually win.

to be continued...

_Note: The timing of the discard effect of Card of Demise is different from the movie, because I wrote this chapter before I saw the movie and by then it was too late to rewrite this duel. Also, Lightning Blade is an Equipment card in the game but was treated like a one-turn increase in the show, so I treated it here as such._


	5. Blow for Blow

**Rematch: Joey vs. Kaiba  
By Cere**

**Chapter 5: Blow for Blow**

Kaiba smirked (K LP: 1000). He had lost one fight, but not the war. His Final Attack Orders card would stay on the field, preventing Joey from placing monsters in defense mode. His stronger monsters would eventually win.

"That ends my turn," Joey said, surveying the last card in his hand (J LP: 600).

Kaiba drew a card and smiled. "You can't hide now," he said. "I sacrifice my Kaiser Seahorse in order to summon Vampire Lord (2000/1500)." The warrior was replaced by a purple vampire dressed in dark colors. "Vampire Lord, attack his monster."

Vampire Lord flung its cloak out of the way and jumped at Joey's Gearfried, tackling it to the ground and destroying it (J LP: 400). "Now," Kaiba said, "because Vampire Lord damaged your Life Points, you must discard a Magic card from your deck."

Joey picked his deck from his Duel Disk and looked through it. He was startled by how few cards remained in his deck. This duel had been going on for a long time. He finally took Polymerization and put it in his Graveyard, then shuffled his deck and returned it to his Duel Disk.

"My turn," Joey said. He was aware of the danger now. Because of Kaiba's Trap card, his monsters couldn't be in defense mode and protect his Life Points anymore. If he didn't draw a monster stronger than Vampire Lord, he could lose in the next turn.

"I have you now, Joey," Kaiba said. "I know how weak your monsters are. You can't possibly draw a monster stronger than mine."

"Attack points can be misleading sometimes," Joey said, looking at the card he just drew. "A monster's effect can make it very strong. Let me show you! I set one card facedown and summon Time Wizard."

"But Baby Dragon isn't on the field," Tristan said.

"That's true," Joey said. "I normally play Time Wizard as a Magic card, but it can also be played as a monster." The multi-colored magician (500/400) stepped onto the field. "Not only can I attack with this monster, but I can also still use its effect. Go, Time Roulette!"

The pointer on Time Wizard's wand started spinning. _The entire duel rests on the outcome of this spin,_ Joey thought. _If it lands on a skull, I'm doomed._

_It doesn't matter what he gets,_ Kaiba thought, crossing his arms. _This is a futile attempt to out-duel me._

The spinner gradually slowed, clicking along a couple times before stopping to rest on a red stopwatch.

"All right," Joey said. "Now Time Wizard will age your field a thousand years, destroying all of your monsters."

A vortex of swirling light and images of clocks appeared around Kaiba's monster. Vampire Lord cried out in surprise, but eventually those cries faded and there wasn't a trace of the vampire left.

"Now, Time Wizard," Joey said, "attack Kaiba directly."

As Time Wizard moved towards him, Kaiba uncrossed his arms and pushed a button on his Duel Disk. "That's more Life Points than I want to lose," he said, "so I'll activate Negate Attack and prevent your attack from hitting me."

The Trap card flipped face-up and Time Wizard was bounced back onto Joey's field. "If you insist," Joey said. "That'll end my turn."

"My move," Kaiba said, drawing a card. "And now my Vampire Lord will be reborn onto the field."

"Oh man," Joey said as a black coffin materialized onto the field, "I forgot about that."

The coffin lid creaked open and Vampire Lord flew out. "Now, my vampire," Kaiba said, "attack his Time Wizard and drain the rest of his Life Points."

"Not if I can help it," Joey said. "Activate Silver Dollar. Since my monster has less than 1000 attack points, this Trap card will protect it from your attack."

Vampire Lord's punch was blocked as a small coin appeared in front of Time Wizard in the path of the attack. "The wild flailing of a duelist who knows that he's going to lose," Kaiba said.

"This duel isn't over yet," Joey said. "I can still win."

"Seto's rarely this determined to beat somebody," Mokuba commented.

"Same for Joey," Tristan said. "Neither of them wants to lose."

"My turn," Joey said. He smiled when he saw which card he drew. "Now, Time Wizard, let's work your magic again!"

"It won't work for you a second time," Kaiba exclaimed.

"We'll just see," Joey said. "I'm feeling lucky."

The spinner rotated around, slowed, and then stopped squarely on a skull mark.

"Oh no," Tea said. "Now his monsters will be destroyed."

"And he'll lose Life Points," Yugi added.

A time vortex appeared on Joey's field and sucked Time Wizard into it (J LP: 150). Kaiba laughed. "That's what happens when you rely on luck," he said.

But Joey's face was unfazed. "It's all right," he said. "I was only hoping to get a direct attack. My plan will work anyway."

"What plan?" Kaiba asked.

"Like all great plans, it's a simple one," Joey replied. "I'll summon Goblin Attack Force and kick your butt!" A large group of green goblins brandishing clubs (2300/0) sprung out onto the field and rushed towards Vampire Lord. Kaiba's monster was overwhelmed and crushed to the ground (K LP: 700).

"Since I destroyed Vampire Lord in battle," Joey said, "it won't be reborn to the field next turn. Also, though my monster normally goes into defense mode after attacking, your Trap card makes it stay in attack mode, so I can attack you with it again next turn! I've used your own Trap card against you."

Kaiba was actually shocked. He kept his face steady, but his mind was racing furiously. None of the cards in his hand would be able to help him. He needed to draw a good card next turn or he was finished.

"How does it feel to be in the same situation I was a couple turns ago?" Joey said.

Kaiba smiled. "It makes me relieved that such a turnaround is possible. My turn."

He pulled a card from his ever-decreasing deck and looked at it. It was a little risky, but it could work. "Out of curiosity," he said, "how many cards do you have left in your deck?"

Joey pulled his deck from his Duel Disk and counted the cards. "Eight," he said, replacing his deck.

"And I only have seven," Kaiba said, "which means that I'll run out of cards before you do."

"It's not the manliest way to win," Joey said, "but it's still a win."

"Then I'll have to defeat you before then," Kaiba said, _and I know just the way to do it._

"I summon Pitch-Dark Dragon (900/600) and set two cards facedown," Kaiba said. "That ends my turn."

_All right,_ Joey thought, _he's finally run out of powerful monsters. If I attack, I can finally win this duel._ But then he hesitated. _However, I have those two facedown cards to worry about. Kaiba knows that he'll lose if I attack, so those cards must be to protect his monster, or to defeat me. An attack would be risky._

He drew a card from his deck and smiled. _This could be just the card I need. It would mean losing my monster on the field, but it's worth it if I can get rid of those Traps. This could be my one shot to beat him._

"For my move," he began, "I'll sacrifice my Goblin Attack Force in order to summon Jinzo!" The sleek, shiny android (2400/1500) rose onto the field with its arms crossed. "Not only is my Jinzo a strong monster, but its special effect will destroy every Trap card on the field."

Jinzo's eyes activated and red beams shot out, crossing Kaiba's Final Attack Orders and facedown Crush Card and destroying them. Kaiba growled at Joey's luck.

"I see what your plan was," Joey said. "You were going to destroy every powerful monster left in my deck, making me run out of cards before you."

"And preventing you from fighting back," Kaiba added. "A chance bit of luck saved you."

"What can I say? Lady Luck likes me."

"Will you hurry up and finish your turn?"

"Certainly. In fact, it's time to finish this duel." Joey made a dramatic pose and pointed at Kaiba. "Jinzo, attack Kaiba's monster and eliminate the rest of his Life Points." Jinzo formed a ball of cybernetic energy in its hands and fired it at the black dragon.

"Joey's gonna win!" Tristan shouted.

"Not yet," Yugi said. "Kaiba's remaining facedown card will save him."

"You know what that card is?" Tea asked.

"Yep," Yugi replied. "Kaiba's Crush Card combo wouldn't have worked unless it was that Magic card."

"I'm sorry, Joey," Kaiba said, "but we're not done just yet. I activate my facedown card, Shrink. It will reduce your monster's attack points by half for this turn."

Jinzo's attack withered away slightly before hitting Kaiba's monster. It was destroyed anyway, but Kaiba was still in the game (K LP: 400).

Joey grumbled. "At least I can get you next turn," he said.

"Wrong," Kaiba replied, drawing a card. "Now that my Final Attack Orders Trap card is gone, monsters can defend themselves again. I summon Twin-Headed Behemoth (1500/1200) in defense mode and end my turn."

The two-headed purple dragon wrapped its wings around itself and looked at Joey. He huffed and drew a card. _Great,_ he thought, _I don't even have enough Life Points to use this card. And if I remember that Behemoth's effect correctly, attacking it won't do much good. Still, there's nothing else to do._

"Jinzo, attack his dragon," he said. The android released another cybernetic blast and wiped out Kaiba's monster.

"And now," Kaiba said, "my monster returns to the field." The shattered pieces of Twin-Headed Behemoth reassembled themselves and the monster (1000/1000) sat without a scratch.

"Don't worry, Joey" Yugi called. "It can only do that once. On the next turn, you can destroy it."

"No, he won't," Kaiba said, drawing. "It only needed to last one turn, long enough for me to sacrifice it." The purple dragon faded away in a flash of light. "Now, I summon Kaiser Glider."

The large yellow hunchbacked dragon (2400/2200) stepped onto the field and roared in welcome. "That doesn't worry me," Joey said. "It can't defeat my Jinzo without destroying itself in the process."

"That's where you're wrong again," Kaiba said. "My dragon's special effect is much like your Kishido Spirit that you used earlier. Kaiser Glider is not destroyed if it attacks a monster of equal attack strength."

_Oh no,_ Joey thought. _There goes my Jinzo._

"Kaiser Glider," Kaiba said, "wipe the field of that monster."

Kaiser Glider's fireball tore through Jinzo's cybernetic blast and set the robot on fire. Joey's Life Points were unaffected (J LP: 150), but he didn't have any more monsters in his deck capable of defeating Kaiba's monster.

"Yay, big bro!" Mokuba shouted.

"It's over, Joey," Kaiba said. "I know your deck. There are no monsters left in it that can save you."

"Wrong," Joey said, looking at Kaiba with eyes full of determination. "A True Duelist will never give up until the very end. As long as there are cards left in my deck, I can fight. I learned that from Yugi."

The corner of Kaiba's mouth twitched up in a smile. _Perhaps you are more than a simple duelist…_

"My turn," Joey said, drawing a card. He smiled when he saw it. "It's time to bring this duel to its climax. I play the Magic card Last Chance. It can only be activated when we both have ten or less cards in our deck, which we do. Now, we draw every card in our deck, but don't worry. Last Chance's second effect prevents us from drawing cards at the beginning of our turn."

"So," Kaiba said, taking the five remaining cards in his deck, "the winner will be the person who uses these last cards most effectively."

"Exactly," Joey said, drawing his five cards.

to be concluded...

_To Time Mage: This is just a simple duel, not part of anything bigger. I do have another, much more involved idea, but I'll need to plan it out some more before starting on it._


	6. Final Cards

**Rematch: Joey vs. Kaiba  
By Cere **

**Chapter 6: Final Cards**

"It's time to bring this duel to its climax," Joey said (J LP: 150). "I play the Magic card Last Chance. It can only be activated when we both have ten or less cards in our deck, which we do. Now, we draw every card in our deck, but don't worry. Last Chance's second effect prevents us from drawing cards at the beginning of our turn."

"So," Kaiba said (K LP: 400), taking the five remaining cards in his deck, "the winner will be the person who uses these last cards most effectively."

"Exactly," Joey said, drawing his five cards. He surveyed them for a minute, thinking of all the possible moves. "To continue my turn, I summon Axe Raider (1700/1150) in defense mode and set three cards facedown." _This should have me set for a while._

Kaiba huffed. "I see," he said. "All through this duel, you've been defending yourself with Magic and Trap cards. Now, in order to beat you, I must overcome those cards. I accept your challenge!"

"Do you think he can do it?" Tristan asked, turning to Yugi.

Yugi shrugged, his eyes fixed on the duel. "I don't know," he said. "It's all up to Joey now. Those facedown cards had better be good; Kaiba is good at swarming the opponent."

"All right, bro," Mokuba said, "time to shine."

Kaiba took a card from his hand and slipped in into his Duel Disk. "Now, thanks to your Magic card, I have finally drawn Monster Reborn and can revive my third Blue-Eyes."

Joey stepped back as the white dragon again appeared on the field. _Calm down,_ he told himself. _You can still deal with it._

"And finally," Kaiba said, "I'll summon Slate Warrior (1900/400). My army of three monsters is ready to attack you."

_Here we go,_ Joey thought.

"First, I'll attack with Slate Warrior," Kaiba said. "That will draw out any Traps you have before they touch my stronger monsters."

"Wrong, Kaiba," Joey said as the fiend rushed towards Axe Raider. "You won't even survive this first Trap."

Suddenly, Slate Warrior disappeared into a pit in the ground. "What happened?" Kaiba asked.

"I activated my Trap card, Chasm of Spikes," Joey said. Everyone leaned over and saw Slate Warrior burst into pieces as it hit the spikes lining the pit's bottom. "Not only does this destroy your monster," Joey continued, "but it also damages you equal to one-fourth of the destroyed monster's attack points. I don't know exactly how much that is, but I'm sure it's enough to defeat you."

"Good one," Kaiba said, "but I'll use my Ring of Defense card to protect myself from your effect damage." A rotating fan appeared in front of Kaiba. "I normally combo this card with my Ring of Destruction, but it works just as well here. Now, Kaiser Glider, attack his Axe Raider."

"Then I'll activate my second facedown card," Joey said, "Order to Charge. In return for sacrificing one of my monsters, I can destroy any one of your monsters. So, I'll offer my Axe Raider and destroy your Blue-Eyes."

Axe Raider dissolved into white sparkles, and Kaiba's Blue-Eyes did the same. "You fool," Kaiba said. "My other dragon's attack will now hit you directly!"

Kaiser Glider's fireball rammed into Joey and clouded his side of the field. Joey's friends cried out in shock, while Kaiba merely shook his head. "That was a foolish mistake," he said.

"It wasn't a mistake," Joey replied. The smoke cleared, revealing a standing Joey and the face-up image of his last Trap. "Because you attacked me directly, I could activate this card, Nutrient Z. Now, I gain 4000 Life Points before your attack damages me." The card image faded, leaving Joey standing proud (J LP: 1750).

"You were able to survive one turn," Kaiba said, "but you'll run out of cards to protect you. I'll set this card facedown and end my turn."

"I don't need to protect myself any longer," Joey said. "I'm ready to attack you. Not only did my Nutrient Z card protect me from your attack, but it also gave me enough Life Points so that I could use this card, Premature Burial. Now, for the cost of 800 Life Points, I can return my Gilford from the graveyard to the field!"

The Magic card image appeared on the field (J LP: 950) and Joey's electric warrior (2800/1400) stepped out of it. Sparks flickered around the sword he held in front of him. "My monster's strong enough to destroy your Kaiser Glider and the rest of your Life Points," Joey said. "So Gilford, attack!"

"I activate my facedown card, Magical Trick Mirror," Kaiba said. The Trap flipped up and revealed a floating robot covered with mirrors. "This Trap will copy any Magic card in your graveyard and allow me to use it."

_But which one?_ Kaiba thought as Gilford raced closer to his monster. _I can't use Dragon Nails, because that card only works on dark monsters. What else is there?_ Kaiba's mind raced furiously, running through every card that Joey had played. _Ah, that's it. That will work perfectly._

"I've decided which Magic card I want to copy," Kaiba said aloud, "and that card is Emergency Provisions."

"Huh?" Joey asked.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten what your own card does," Kaiba said.

"No," Joey retorted, "it just wasn't what I was expecting."

"With this card," Kaiba continued, "I can send my own Trick Mirror to the graveyard and gain 1000 Life Points, enough to prevent me from losing."

The robot's mirror flashed and revealed Joey's Provisions card. Then, the robot dissolved into sparkles that were absorbed into Kaiba's Life Point counter (K LP: 1400). Once this was done, Gilford reached Kaiser Glider and sliced the monster to pieces (K LP: 1000).

Joey frowned and looked at Kaiba. _He only has two cards left in his hand,_ he thought. _Are those two cards enough to defeat my Gilford?_

"Are you done with your turn?" Kaiba asked. Joey simply nodded.

_Wait a minute,_ Yugi thought. _Kaiser Glider has another effect, that when it's destroyed, a monster on the field is returned to the owner's hand. I'm sure Kaiba wouldn't forget what his own monsters do, so why didn't Kaiba activate that effect? Does he want Gilford to remain on the field?_

"I'll set one monster on the field," Kaiba said, "and one card facedown. That ends my turn."

"Whoa," Tristan said. "Those were his last cards. He has nothing left."

"All right, Joey," Tea called. "You've almost won!"

Joey looked at the last remaining card in his hand. _Here goes nothing._ "I summon Sasuke Samurai #4 (1200/1200) to the field," Joey said. A short warrior with a round yellow head dressed in samurai armor and wielding a spear appeared next to Gilford.

Kaiba frowned. That was a newer monster, one he wasn't familiar with. However, it was a monster, exactly what he wanted to pull off his plan.

"Now, Gilford," Joey said, "attack his facedown monster."

As Joey's monster rushed towards the card image, it flipped up to reveal Des Feral Imp (1600/1800). The green-skinned fiend put up little resistance to Gilford's sword and was defeated in one slash.

"Since you revealed my Des Feral Imp," Kaiba said, "I can take one card from my graveyard and add it to my deck." The graveyard on his Duel Disk spit out a card, which Kaiba placed into his deck slot.

"What good will that do?" Tea asked. "Nobody's drawing cards anymore."

_Could it be?_ Yugi wondered.

"Whatever card you grabbed," Joey said, "you won't get to use it. Samurai, attack Kaiba directly!" The warrior brandished its spear and prepared to rush at Kaiba.

"What's that?" Kaiba asked. "I didn't hear you, and neither will your monster, thanks to my Command Silencer."

Kaiba's facedown card rotated upward to show a totem pole holding three speakers. These speakers let out a horrendous noise, causing everybody, including Joey's Samurai, to cover their ears.

"Because of my Command Silencer," Kaiba said, "your monster's attack was negated. But, that's not the only thing my card does."

"What's that?" Joey asked. "I've never seen it before."

"That's because you were unconscious at the time," Yugi said. "Command Silencer allows Kaiba to draw a card."

Joey turned back to Kaiba. "So that means…"

"Yes, that's right," Kaiba said, pulling the card from his deck. "I get to summon my Blue-Eyes again!"

He slid Monster Reborn into his Duel Disk and a bright light erupted from it. The light condensed and turned into Kaiba's favorite monster, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"Go, my Blue-Eyes," Kaiba said. "Destroy his Gilford the Lightning." Once again, Joey's warrior succumbed to the White Lightning (J LP: 750). The field was left with each duelist having one monster.

"Then this is it," Joey said. "Are you familiar with the effect of my Sasuke Samurai #4?"

"No, actually I'm not," Kaiba said. "What does it do?"

"When this monster battles another monster," Joey explained, "I get to flip a coin and call it. If I guess right, then your monster is immediately destroyed. If I guess wrong, the attack continues as normal."

"So," Kaiba said, shaking his head, "you're leaving this up to luck yet again, eh? When will you learn and start using dependable cards?"

"You're just worried that I'll beat you," Joey said. "Samurai, attack Kaiba's Blue-Eyes!"

The samurai rushed towards the dragon. Blue-Eyes unleashed another White Lightning attack at the approaching monster. Sasuke Samurai stopped and held its spear up horizontally to brace against the attack. The ball of white energy caught against the spear and held there.

Joey pulled a quarter from his pocket. "It's time to decide the outcome of this duel," Joey said. "I call heads!"

He flipped the coin high into the air. Everyone watched nervously as the coin spun around and around and dropped down into Joey's palm. He immediately flipped his hand over and slapped it onto the top of his other hand.

Then he grinned at Kaiba. "Ready to see what it is?" he asked.

"Of course," Kaiba said, crossing his arms.

He lifted his hand and then sighed, his shoulders relaxing. "It's tails," he said, not losing his smile. The ball of White Lightning broke through Samurai's spear and destroyed the monster (J LP: 0).

"Go, big brother!" Mokuba shouted. There were similar cheers from the audience that had gathered to watch the duel.

"Great job, Joey," Tea said.

"You almost had him," Tristan added.

Joey turned to face his friends and gave them a thumbs-up. Yugi, smiling, nodded his head in approval.

Joey's attention was brought back to Kaiba as he walked towards him, Mokuba tagging along behind him. "That was a good duel," Joey said, offering his hand.

To his surprise, Kaiba took it and shook his hand. "I must admit," he said, letting go, "you've improved a lot since the first time I dueled you. You've learned to strategize and think through your moves. If only you'd rely less on luck, you might be a really good duelist."

"I dunno," Joey said, winking. "I think it adds a lot of fun to the duel."

Kaiba smiled, shaking his head slightly. "Now," he said, "I believe Yugi is supposed to be my next opponent."

Yugi put on his game face and walked over to take Joey's place. "You did a good job," the other Yugi said to Joey. Then he turned and faced Kaiba.

Joey stepped away to take his place with Tristan and Tea. _Oh well,_ he thought. _I'll beat him next time._ "Go, Yugi!"

_Author's note: Thanks to everyone for the positive comments! This was originally just a test run of my dueling writing style (and creating a duel that I had wanted for a long time), but many of you really got into it. Also, Last Chance was the only card I created for this duel. All the other cards were either real or played in the anime. And now, you can read on to the next chapter to read Yugi vs. Kaiba!  
_


	7. Yugi vs Kaiba : This is our last duel

**Rematch: Yugi vs. Kaiba  
By Cere**

**Chapter 1: "This is our last duel"**

"Go, Yugi!" Joey shouted.

Yugi turned back and flashed Joey a smile and a thumbs-up. Then he faced his opponent. "Are you ready, Kaiba?"

"It's been too long, Yugi," Kaiba said. "Do you have the God cards with you?"

"No, I don't," Yugi replied. "Given their incredible collector's value, I've decided to store them in a safe place."

"What a shame," Kaiba said. "I had a deck prepared to counter them. But it's just as well. Let me make a couple modifications to my deck and then we can start."

"I'll be ready when you are." Yugi slid his deck into his Duel Disk and activated it.

The crowd that had gathered to watch Joey duel Kaiba now rustled with anticipation. People were pushing up against Tea, Tristan, and Joey in an attempt to get a better view. "People are sure excited about this duel," Tea commented.

"They should be," Joey said. "Those two are some of the biggest legends in Duel Monsters."

Kaiba finally completed his deck and took a ready stance. He and Yugi didn't say a word to each other, but simply nodded and drew five cards from their decks. "Duel!" they shouted (Y LP: 4000) (K LP: 4000).

The crowd around them cheered, and Kaiba noted with a smile that quite a few of those cheers were for him. "I'll start," Kaiba said, drawing a card. He didn't have the best opening hand, but he could work with it. "I summon Kaiser Seahorse in attack mode and end my turn." The underwater warrior covered in blue armor (1700/1650) pointed its spear menacingly at Yugi.

_Starting out conservatively?_ Yugi wondered. He drew a card from his deck and glanced at it. "I summon the Skilled Dark Magician," he said. The black-cloaked magician (1900/1700) stepped onto the field in front of Yugi.

"Support for your Dark Magician, eh?" Kaiba said.

Yugi smiled. "You've heard of it?"

"I've kept track of your performances in tournaments, so I know this card. Every time someone plays a Magic card, your monster gets a Magic Counter. Once it has three Counters, you can sacrifice it to summon a Dark Magician from your deck."

"And it's a strong monster besides," Yugi added. "Skilled Dark Magician, attack his Kaiser Seahorse." The spellcaster released a powerful burst of dark energy that destroyed Kaiba's warrior (K LP: 3800). "I'll also set one card facedown. Your turn."

Kaiba smiled as the virtual card materialized behind Yugi's Skilled Magician. "You haven't weakened at all," he said. "That's good to see. I play the Magic card White Dragon Ritual."

"That gives my Magician a Counter," Yugi said as a power node on the monster's costume lit up.

"I know," Kaiba said. "I sacrifice Des Feral Imp from my hand in order to summon Paladin of White Dragon (1900/1200)." Out of the image of the Magic card came a knight dressed in white armor riding a baby Blue-Eyes.

"Our monsters tie," Yugi commented.

"So I'll trade it in for a stronger one," Kaiba said. "I activate my Paladin's special ability and sacrifice it in order to summon a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck." The baby dragon and its knight rider disappeared in a whirlwind and out of that whirlwind stepped Kaiba's trademark brilliantly white dragon (3000/2500). "My Blue-Eyes can't attack during this turn, but next turn I will unleash its wrath."

The surrounding crowd gasped. "He summoned his Blue-Eyes on his second turn!" Tristan exclaimed.

"How is Yugi gonna deal with this?" Joey said.

"I end my turn," Kaiba said with a smug grin. "I summoned my signature monster first, Yugi."

"But I'll use mine first," Yugi answered, whipping a card from his Duel Disk. "My turn, and I'll play the Magic card Soul Taker." Another whirlwind rose up around Kaiba's Blue-Eyes. "This Magic card lets me sacrifice your monster, though it does give you 1000 Life Points in the process."

Kaiba (K LP: 4800) stepped back in shock. "You can't."

"Don't worry, Kaiba. I'm sacrificing my monster, too." The Skilled Dark Magician was engulfed in another whirlwind. "And now, with these two sacrifices, I'll summon my Dark Magician."

The whirlwinds disappeared and left Yugi's purple-robed magician (2500/2100) on the field. "Now, Dark Magician, attack Kaiba's Life Points directly!" Yugi ordered. The mage twirled his green staff and fired a blaze of dark energy at Kaiba. Kaiba tried his best to remain silent as his Life Points were drained away (K LP: 2300).

"No mercy," Kaiba said, wiping his chin with the back of his hand. "Just the way I want it."

"I end my turn," Yugi said.

_The look on his face,_ Kaiba thought, _it's so serious, so blank. What is he thinking?_ Kaiba drew a card. "I set one card facedown and play Silent Doom to bring my Blue-Eyes back from the Graveyard." The white dragon rose from the ground hunched down with its wings wrapped around itself. "My Blue-Eyes can't attack while it's on the field due to Silent Doom's effect, but its defense is strong enough to withstand your magician's attacks."

"That's what you think," Yugi said. "My turn, and I play the Equipment card Magic Formula on my Dark Magician, giving him 500 more attack points (Dark Magician: 3000/2100). Dark Magician, attack Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

Blue-Eyes disappeared in another blast of dark power. "I also summon Big Shield Guardna (100/2600) in defense mode and end my turn," Yugi said. A long-haired warrior rested next to Dark Magician behind his enormous shield.

Kaiba growled and rested his hand on the top card of his deck. _I can't let Yugi beat me this easily,_ he thought.

"This is our last duel," Yugi said.

Kaiba looked up in surprise. He thought he detected a bit of sadness in Yugi's face. "I recently recovered my memories of being a Pharaoh in the past," Yugi continued.

Kaiba huffed. "Still going on about that nonsense?" he said.

"Kaiba, I remember who I am now, and that I don't belong here. This isn't my time. In a short while, I will leave this world and rejoin my old friends in the afterlife."

"Are you serious?" Kaiba asked. He turned to Yugi's friends and saw their sad faces as well.

"However," Yugi said, "I have waited a little longer in order to give you the honor of one last duel." He raised his Duel Disk, his face full of determination and challenge. "I will fight you with everything I have. I will not hold back!"

Kaiba smiled. "Then I won't hold back either. My turn!"

"C'mon, brother," Mokuba cheered. "You can do it!"

Kaiba drew his card and looked at it with satisfaction. "I set one card on the field and a monster facedown."

Two holographic cards joined the one already on the field. _I see,_ Yugi thought. He drew a card and slipped it into his Duel Disk. "I set one card facedown. Now, Dark Magician, attack his facedown monster."

The magician rushed towards the card image, which flipped up to reveal a metallic orb with a single green domed eye and a wide smile (900/900). "Cyber Jar," Yugi said. "That monster's ability destroys every monster on the field."

"And that's not all," Kaiba said. "I activate Crush Card. When a Dark monster with 1000 or less attack points is destroyed in battle, this card destroys every monster with 1500 or more attack points on your field, in your hand, and in your deck."

"Which is why I won't let it activate," Yugi said. "I activate my own facedown card, Seven Tools of the Bandit. It may cost me 1000 Life Points (Y LP: 3000), but it lets me negate and destroy your Trap."

"So be it," Kaiba said, "but you've lost Life Points and my Cyber Jar's effect still activates."

The metal pod exploded, sending shrapnel through all of Yugi's monsters and destroying them. "Cyber Jar also has another effect," Kaiba said. "We take the top five cards from our deck and summon any monsters with four or less Level stars."

"I know," Yugi said. He drew five cards and picked three of them. "I summon three monsters in facedown defense mode."

Kaiba grimaced as three holographic cards appeared on the field. "I summon Rare Metal Dragon (2400/1200) and Y-Dragon Head (1500/1600)," he said. Before him appeared two dragons, a black one with metallic shining skin and a red robotic one.

"That will end my turn," Yugi said.

to be continued...


	8. Dragons' Curse

**Rematch: Yugi vs. Kaiba  
By Cere**

Chapter 2: Dragons' Curse

The metal pod exploded, sending shrapnel through all of Yugi's monsters and destroying them. "Cyber Jar also has another effect," Kaiba said (K LP: 2300). "We take the top five cards from our deck and summon any monsters with four or less Level stars."

"I know," Yugi said (Y LP: 3000). He drew five cards and picked three of them. "I summon three monsters in facedown defense mode."

Kaiba grimaced as three holographic cards appeared on the field. "I summon Rare Metal Dragon (2400/1200) and Y-Dragon Head (1500/1600)," he said. Before him appeared two dragons, a black one with metallic shining skin and a red robotic one.

"That will end my turn," Yugi said.

"Do you think Yugi's lost the momentum now?" Tea asked.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Joey replied. "His monsters can have a high defense."

"A fact I'm well aware of," Kaiba said, "so I'll sacrifice my weak Y-Dragon Head in order to summon Kaiser Glider." The red robot was replaced by a hulking yellow dragon (2400/2200). Yugi suppressed a small smile.

"Kaiser Glider," Kaiba continued, "attack the leftmost monster." Kaiser Glider shot a yellow fireball out of his mouth. The fire reached Yugi's monster and engulfed it.

"That won't work," Yugi said with a smile. Inside the fire knelt Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (1400/1200), unscathed and with a stern look on his face. "My Celtic Guardian cannot be destroyed by a monster with 1900 or more attack points."

"How ironic," Kaiba said. "I just sacrificed a monster capable of destroying it. Rare Metal Dragon, attack the middle monster." His dragon quickly tore through Yugi's Alpha the Magnet Warrior. "That ends my turn."

"My turn," Yugi said, drawing a card. _This would be a powerful monster,_ Yugi thought, looking at the card he just drew. _However, if I destroy his Kaiser Glider, then its ability will just return this monster to my hand._ "I summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior (1500/1800) in defense mode and end my turn."

"I may be unable to destroy your Obnoxious Celtic Guardian," Kaiba said, drawing a card, "but I can still damage your Life Points. I summon Spear Dragon in attack mode." The blue bat-winged dragon with a sharp nose (1900/0) flapped onto the field next to the other dragons. "It inflicts damage to your Life Points even when your monster is in defense mode. Spear Dragon, attack his Celtic Guardian! My other dragons will take care of your other monsters."

Spear Dragon fired a tornado burst from its mouth and then wrapped its wings around itself. The tornado whipped through Celtic Guardian and moved on to hit Yugi directly (Y LP: 2300). Kaiba's Kaiser Glider and Rare Metal Dragon easily destroyed Yugi's Gamma and Gazelle.

"They're tied now," Tristan said.

"Though it looks like Kaiba has the upper hand," Tea added.

"Come on, Yugi," Joey said under his breath.

"That's how you do it, brother!" Mokuba shouted.

"My army of dragons has you," Kaiba said. "Anything you summon will be destroyed, while my Spear Dragon will continue to whittle away at your Life Points."

"Your dragon army may be strong," Yugi replied, "but it has a fatal weakness, one that I can exploit with the right card. My turn."

He rested his hand on his deck. The sacrifices he needed to summon his strong monster were gone, so he needed a good draw. His deck obliged.

"I play the Magic card Brain Control," he said. "This allows me to control your Kaiser Glider for one turn." A purple brain materialized and stretched out its long arms to grab the yellow dragon and drag it to Yugi's side of the field. "Then I'll sacrifice Kaiser Glider and Obnoxious Celtic Guardian to summon my Buster Blader."

_Oh no,_ Kaiba thought as the two monsters disappeared inside a raging whirlwind. The wind whipped and stormed, making the crowd hold their breath with anticipation. Finally, the wind dissipated to reveal a warrior clad in purple armor and wielding a sword almost as big as him (2600/2300).

"Now my monster's special ability activates," Yugi said. "Go, Dragon Sword." Buster Blader pointed its sword at Kaiba. Life essence flowed out of his Graveyard and from his monsters on the field and swirled around the sword.

"What's happening?" Mokuba asked.

"My monster gains 500 extra attack points for every Dragon on your field and in your Graveyard," Yugi explained. Buster Blader finished absorbing energy and rested his sword on his shoulder (Buster Blader: 5100/2300). "This gives him enough strength to finish you off. Buster Blader, attack his Rare Metal Dragon."

"Sorry, Yugi," Kaiba said as the armored warrior rushed towards his dragon, "but I can't lose yet. Activate Attack Guidance Armor." A torso of spiked armor came out of Kaiba's Trap card and latched onto Spear Dragon. "Now your monster has to attack my Spear Dragon, and since it automatically moved to defense mode after attacking, my Life Points are safe."

"Good move, brother!" Mokuba shouted.

Buster Blader quickly tore through the blue dragon and returned to its place in front of Yugi. "That won't be enough to protect you," Yugi said. "When you focused your deck more on dragon monsters, you made yourself more susceptible to my Buster Blader. Your strength has now because your downfall, because every dragon you summon will only make him stronger."

"We'll see," Kaiba said, drawing a card from his deck. _Perfect,_ he thought. _This card will allow me to get rid of his Blader and avenge the move he pulled on me earlier in the game. However, I need a monster that requires a tribute, and I don't have any._ "I move my Rare Metal Dragon to defense mode and set one card," Kaiba said. "Your turn."

"He didn't summon another monster," Joey remarked.

"So?" Tristan asked.

"If Yugi can summon a monster," Joey said, "he could attack Kaiba directly."

"My turn," Yugi said. He glanced at the card he drew, slipped it into his hand, grabbed the card next to it, and set it on his Duel Disk. "I summon King's Knight (1600/1400) in attack mode." The orange-armored warrior stood aside Buster Blader and held its sword at the ready. Crowd members who had made the same realization as Joey shouted with excitement.

"King's Knight," Yugi said, "attack Rare Metal Dragon." The knight leapt across the field and slashed through Kaiba's monster with one strike. "Now, Buster Blader, attack Kaiba directly!"

As the purple warrior raised its sword, Kaiba pointed to his facedown card. "I activate Command Silencer," he said. A totem pole appeared and let out waves of screeching sound. Buster Blader stopped in pain and everyone except for Kaiba and Yugi winced. "This negates your attack and lets me draw one card." He pulled his card and grimaced. _Not what I needed._

"I end my turn," Yugi said as the screeching noise died away.

Kaiba drew another card and then smiled. "It's time to repay you for sacrificing my Blue-Eyes earlier," he said. He picked a card from his hand and placed it in his Duel Disk. "I play the Magic card Soul Exchange. This lets me sacrifice your Buster Blader so I can summon my Luster Dragon #2."

"Just my Buster Blader?" Yugi asked as the hologram of Kaiba's Magic card appeared.

"What?"

"I activate Mystical Refpanel," Yugi said. A purple fairy materialized and caught the reflection of Kaiba's Magic card in her mirror. "This lets me control your Magic card, so instead of my Buster Blader, you sacrifice my King's Knight."

The orange knight dissolved and flowed into Kaiba's Soul Exchange card. Kaiba grimaced and slapped his monster card onto the Disk in defense mode. A brilliant green dragon (2400/1400) awoke in front of Kaiba.

"Also," Yugi said, "because you summoned another dragon, my Buster Blader grows stronger." Luster Dragon gave a small cry as essence was taken from its body and added to Blader's sword (Buster Blader: 5600/2300).

Kaiba, his grimace frozen on his face, looked through his hand again. _Perhaps this wasn't a complete waste,_ he thought. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn."

"Come on, brother!" Mokuba shouted. He received some support from the crowd, but this was drowned out by Yugi's supporters in the audience.

Yugi drew a card and added it to his hand. "Your facedown cards don't scare me," he said, pulling out another card from his hand. "I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior (1700/1600). Beta, attack his Luster Dragon."

Kaiba smiled. "It's too late, Yugi," he said. "My Luster Dragon may have increased Buster Blader's power, but it has also allowed me to overcome your monster's weakness."

"And what is that?" Yugi asked, his magnet warrior frozen in mid-attack.

"Though his attack strength increases," Kaiba continued, "his defense strength remains the same, a fact that my Burst Breath card can exploit." The Trap card flipped up and Luster Dragon became engulfed in flames. "By sacrificing a dragon monster, I can destroy every monster on the field with a defense weaker than my dragon's attack, and Luster Dragon is just strong enough to take down your Blader."

Luster Dragon disappeared and the flames spread to surround both of Yugi's monsters. Yugi flinched from the heat as both of them were destroyed.

"My dragons triumph again," Kaiba said.

Yugi smiled and took two cards from his hand. "I set two cards and end my turn."

"My turn," Kaiba said. "Now to attack again. I set one card facedown and summon Blade Knight, whose attack is increased because I only have one card in my hand (2000/1000). Blade Knight, attack Yugi directly."

"Isn't he walking straight into a trap?" Joey asked.

"I activate Mirror Force," Yugi said. A reflective shield appeared in front of him and shattered the medieval knight as it charged.

"I knew you had a trap ready," Kaiba said. "Activate Flat LV4. When one of my monsters is destroyed, both of us summon a Level 4 monster from our decks in attack mode."

"I summon Magician's Valkyria (1600/1800)," Yugi said as the long-haired female spellcaster dressed in blue readied her staff.

"I summon Vorse Raider (1900/1200)," Kaiba said, "and it will be easy for him to destroy your monster." Kaiba's animal warrior rushed over and sliced through Yugi's magician (Y LP: 2000).

"My turn," Yugi said. _This gives me some possibilities,_ he thought, looking at the card he just drew. "I summon Sangan (1000/600) in defense mode and end my turn." The furry critter blinked each of its three eyes in succession as it rested on its haunches.

Kaiba drew a card. "I play Card of Demise," he said, displaying the card to Yugi. "Now I draw until I hold five cards, and then after five turns must discard my entire hand." He smiled as he looked over the cards he'd drawn. "Next I play the Magic card Awakening from Beyond. This lets me return my Blue-Eyes from my Graveyard to my hand."

"And I get to draw two cards," Yugi said, taking two from his deck.

"Let's see how much they will help you," Kaiba said. "I play my final card, Immense Gravitational Machine." Smoke erupted from the field in-between the two duelists and a hulking blockish machine with a horizontal satellite dish on top rose from the smoke.

"Immense Gravitational Machine?" Joey asked.

"Yes," Kaiba replied. "At the cost of 2000 Life Points (K LP: 300), this card forces both of us to place every card in our hands onto the field."

"Every card?" Yugi asked in shock.

"That's right," Kaiba said. "Let me demonstrate. I set two cards facedown and summon two Blue-Eyes White Dragons."

Kaiba's two dragons roared with the crowd, sending waves of power towards Yugi. _So that's how it is,_ he thought, glancing again at the cards in his hand.

"I set three cards facedown," he said.

Kaiba smirked. "Normally," he said, "four facedown cards would worry me. But, due to my Gravitational Machine, they're no problem now."

"What?" Tristan shouted. "Does his Magic card have another effect?"

"No," Kaiba said. "It's because of the rules."

"Huh?"

Kaiba sighed. "According to the rules of the game, a player cannot activate a Trap card during the turn that it's placed on the field."

"And Yugi just put those three cards on the field," Joey added.

"That's right," Kaiba said. "Even if one of those cards was a Trap capable of stopping me, he can't activate it because that would be against the rules. He can't defend himself now."

to be continued...


	9. The Big Plays

**Rematch: Yugi vs. Kaiba  
By Cere**

**Chapter 3: The Big Plays**

"I play my final card, Immense Gravitational Machine," Kaiba said. Smoke erupted from the field in-between the two duelists and a hulking blockish machine with a horizontal satellite dish on top rose from the smoke.

"Immense Gravitational Machine?" Joey asked.

"Yes," Kaiba replied. "At the cost of 2000 Life Points (K LP: 300), this card forces both of us to place every card in our hands onto the field."

"Every card?" Yugi asked in shock (Y LP: 2000).

"That's right," Kaiba said. "Let me demonstrate. I set two cards facedown and summon two Blue-Eyes White Dragons."

Kaiba's two dragons roared with the crowd, sending waves of power towards Yugi. _So that's how it is,_ he thought, glancing again at the cards in his hand.

"I set three cards facedown," he said.

Kaiba smirked. "Normally," he said, "four facedown cards would worry me. But, due to my Gravitational Machine, they're no problem now."

"What?" Tristan shouted. "Does his Magic card have another effect?"

"No," Kaiba said. "It's because of the rules."

"Huh?"

Kaiba sighed. "According to the rules of the game, a player cannot activate a Trap card during the turn that it's placed on the field."

"And Yugi just put those three cards on the field," Joey added.

"That's right," Kaiba said. "Even if one of those cards was a Trap capable of stopping me, he can't activate it because that would be against the rules. He can't defend himself now."

"Yugi," Tea said.

"I still have options, Kaiba," Yugi said.

"Hmph. Vorse Raider, attack his Sangan."

One swift slice took care of Yugi's monster. "Now Sangan's effect activates," Yugi said. "I can take one monster with an attack strength of 1500 or less from my deck and add it to my hand."

"That won't help," Kaiba said. "Blue-Eyes, attack directly!"

A burst of white energy came rushing at Yugi. "You're wrong," he said, taking the card he had just picked from his deck and sliding it into his Graveyard. "The monster I fetched was Kuriboh, and I can discard it to reduce the damage from one of your attacks."

A cluster of furry Kuribohs sprung up in front of Yugi and took the brunt of Kaiba's attack. The last few whispers of White Lightning fluttered by Yugi's head and barely ruffled his hair.

"But that will only protect you from one attack," Kaiba said. "Go, my second Blue-Eyes!" As the first dragon closed its jaws and rested its head, the second one opened its mouth and fired another blast of energy.

Yugi's mind raced furiously. _There has to be a way to save myself…yes, of course!_

Yugi held up one finger and smiled. "What you said about Traps was true, but you forgot something."

"Huh?" Kaiba said, his face illuminated by his monster's attack.

"Magic cards can be activated during the turn they're placed on the field." He pointed to one of his facedown cards as it swung open. "I activate Card of Sanctity."

"We both draw six cards?" Kaiba wondered.

Yugi closed his eyes and moved his hand towards his deck. There was only one monster in his deck that could save him, and he hoped it was among the top six cards of his deck. He drew his cards and fanned them in front of his face, smiling when he saw the one he wanted.

"I've just drawn Watapon," he said. "When that monster is added to my hand because of a card effect, I can instantly summon it to the field. It will take your Blue-Eyes's attack instead of me."

As he reached to grab Watapon from his hand, he noticed something. _These cards…perfect!_ Then he smiled even broader, grabbed the card he wanted, and placed it on his Duel Disk. A pink puffball with puffball antennae (200/300) popped up before him.

"That won't save you," Kaiba said, smiling. "I activate Dragon's Rage."

"What?" Joey said.

"Wait, isn't that a Trap card?" Tristan asked. "I thought he couldn't activate Trap cards right after he put them on the field."

"I didn't just put it on the field," Kaiba answered. "I set it during my previous turn."

"Oh."

"Why is everyone so worried?" Tea asked. "What does that card do?"

"You know the rule that you don't lose Life Points if your monster is defeated in defense mode?" Joey said.

"Yeah."

"That card allows Kaiba's Dragons to bypass that rule."

"Oh." She thought for a minute. "But wait, doesn't that mean Yugi'll lose?"

"Don't worry," Yugi said, still smiling. "I placed a Trap card last turn as well. Go, Dust Tornado. This lets me easily destroy your Trap card." The holographic card flipped up and let loose a whirlwind that blew away Kaiba's Trap.

Kaiba's smile faded a little. "My attack still reaches your monster," he said as Watapon disappeared in a flash of white light. "Your last defense is gone."

"I don't need to defend anymore," Yugi replied. "My counterattack starts now."

Kaiba huffed. "My turn isn't even done yet."

"It doesn't need to be. Dust Tornado has a second effect, letting me set one Magic or Trap card from my hand." He took one card from his hand and slipped it into his Duel Disk. "Now I'm ready for you."

_Why did he do that?_ Kaiba wondered. _Why would he need to set a card during my turn? Is it a Trap that he needs to activate next turn?_ He surveyed the cards that he had drawn from Card of Sanctity's effect. _I could still finish him off this turn, but I'm curious to see what he's planning. I can beat him anyway when my next turn comes._

"I end my turn," Kaiba said.

Yugi drew a card, noted it with interest, and added it to his hand. _I am in need of your sacrifice,_ he said to the monsters in his hand and one monster in his deck. _With your help, we can win this duel._

"I summon Winged Kuriboh in attack mode," Yugi announced. A Kuriboh with small white wings (300/200) popped out of the holographic card in front of him and waved at the crowd.

"How cute," Tea commented.

"Attack mode?" Kaiba asked.

"Winged Kuriboh," Yugi said, "attack Kaiba's Vorse Raider."

"Yugi?" Joey asked. "What are you doing?"

"Vorse Raider, counterattack," Kaiba said.

The brown furball put on a brave face and rushed towards the animal warrior. It was defeated with one slice.

"Why did you throw away your Life Points like that?" Kaiba asked.

"I didn't throw away any Life Points," Yugi replied. "When Winged Kuriboh is destroyed, my Life Points are safe from battle damage for the rest of the turn."

"Then why-"

"So that I could activate the Trap that I placed during the previous turn, Soul Rope," Yugi said as the card flipped up. "Since one of my monsters was just destroyed, I can pay 1000 Life Points (Y LP: 1000) and summon a Level 4 monster from my deck."

A shining white rope reached out of Yugi's Trap card, wound its way to his deck, attached to a certain card, and pulled the card out. Out of this card sprang a fierce female magician dressed in blue and gold. "I summon my second Magician's Valkyria (1600/1800)," Yugi said.

"But why?" Kaiba asked. "It's still weaker than my monsters."

"But it's a Spellcaster," Yugi said, "which allows me to activate the Magic card Dimension Magic. Now I can sacrifice a monster on my field and summon another Spellcaster from my hand."

A sarcophagus suspended by chains appeared and opened up, letting Magician's Valkyria step inside. The lid closed and black smoke burst out of the sarcophagus, which then opened up to reveal another female magician of Yugi's, this one dressed in blue and pink.

"I summon Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700)," Yugi said.

The appearance of one of Yugi's trademark monsters made the crowd, especially the guys, cheer with excitement. "Boys," Tea grumbled as she heard a particularly lewd comment from behind her.

"First, my Dimension Magic has another effect," Yugi said, "allowing my Dark Magician Girl to automatically destroy one of your monsters. Go, destroy his Blue-Eyes!"

Kaiba watched helplessly as his dragon was shattered by a ball of purple energy. _Now I can't summon my Ultimate Dragon,_ he thought in frustration.

"Next, my Dark Magician Girl gains attack points from the Dark Magician in my Graveyard, making her strong enough to defeat you." The spirit of Dark Magician arose and stood behind his disciple (Dark Magician Girl: 2300/1700). "Dark Magician Girl, attack Vorse Raider with Black Burning!"

Another energy attack rushed towards Kaiba. This one he could deal with. "Activate Negate Attack," Kaiba said. A swirling vortex appeared in front of Vorse Raider and swallowed the attack.

"Very well," Yugi said. "I set one card facedown and end my turn."

Kaiba drew a card and smiled. "Just the card I needed," he said. "I activate my facedown Polymerization to summon my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon."

"What?" Joey shouted. "But one of your Blue-Eyes is in the Graveyard!"

"I know," Kaiba replied, holding up the Blue-Eyes card in his hand and another monster, "but my Versago the Destroyer has the ability to substitute for a monster needed in a fusion." Beside the Blue-Eyes on the field appeared a second Blue-Eyes and a fiend wrapped in ribbons that quickly morphed into a perfect copy of the other dragons. Then the three dragons melded together to form the three-headed powerhouse of Kaiba's deck (4500/3800).

"My Ultimate Dragon," Kaiba shouted, "use your Neutron Blast to annihilate Yugi's monster!"

Yugi flinched from the incredible power of Kaiba's monster, but his finger moved to press a button on his Duel Disk. "Not if I can help it," he shouted back. "Activate Spellbinding Circle."

The dragon cried out as the binding array materialized around its necks. The circle crackled with stress, but it held. "Now your monster cannot attack and is weakened by 700 points," Yugi said (Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon: 3800/3800).

Kaiba growled. "Enough of this," he said. "I remove Blade Knight and Des Feral Imp from my Graveyard to summon Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End (3000/2500)." A turquoise dragon with red hair and white bone armor arose next to Kaiba.

"That's a very powerful monster," Yugi said, "but you don't have enough Life Points to use its effect."

Kaiba simply took two cards from his hand and slid them into his Duel Disk. "I set two cards," he said, "and then play Emergency Provisions to send them to the Graveyard and gain Life Points." Two holographic cards appeared and then immediately dissolved into yellow sparkles that flocked to Kaiba's Life Point counter (K LP: 2300). Yugi's eyes opened with shock. "Now, I pay 1000 Life Points (K LP: 1300) so that Chaos Emperor Dragon can destroy every card on the field and in our hands and do 300 points of damage to your Life Points for each card destroyed."

Flames formed in the Chaos Dragon's mouth and then flooded out towards Yugi, engulfing every other card along the way. Yugi, his face framed by a flickering red-orange light, smiled, touched another button on his Duel Disk, and pointed to another facedown card. "I activate Divine Wind," he said. "This sends any effect damage back at you with twice the strength."

A strong wind blew up behind Yugi and directed the flames back at Kaiba. He faced the onslaught without flinching, took the last card in his hand, and slipped it into his Duel Disk. "I thought you might have something like that," he said. "I play Ring of Defense to protect my Life Points from effect damage for this turn."

The spinning fan unfolded in front of Kaiba. The flames splashed against it and spread out to encompass the whole field. "Then I have one final facedown card to play," Yugi shouted against the roar of the fire. "My own Emergency Provisions will send Spellbinding Circle and Divine Wind to the Graveyard."

Finally, the fire completely overwhelmed the field. Everyone cringed and turned away until the flames died down and only Yugi and Kaiba were left on the field, both breathing heavily (K LP: 1300) (Y LP: 3000).

to be continued...


	10. Attack and Defense

**Rematch: Yugi vs. Kaiba  
By Cere**

**Chapter 4: Attack and Defense**

Finally, the fire completely overwhelmed the field. Everyone cringed and turned away until the flames died down and only Yugi and Kaiba were left on the field, both breathing heavily (K LP: 1300) (Y LP: 3000).

"That was intense," Tristan commented. Everyone else agreed.

"You did not disappoint me," Kaiba said. "Now that our options are completely wiped out, we must both rely on whatever cards we draw."

Yugi nodded and took a card from his deck. _Whoever draws a monster first has the upper hand,_ he thought. He couldn't hide the grimace from his face. _Diffusion Wave-Motion._ "I end my turn."

Kaiba smiled, but that smile faded when he drew his card. _This Trap card is completely useless,_ he thought. "I set one card facedown and end my turn," he said.

Yugi drew another card. _At least this one is a monster card,_ he thought, _but I have nothing to sacrifice to summon it._ He added the card to his hand and nodded at Kaiba.

"Perhaps luck has smiled on me first," he said after drawing a card. "I play Pot of Greed and draw two more cards." _These cards should work very well,_ he thought. "I set one card facedown and summon Giant Germ (1000/100) in defense mode." _Now I'm ready for whatever you might throw at me._

_That's more like it,_ Yugi thought after drawing his card. "I play Double Spell," he said. "After discarding a Magic card from my hand," – he slid Diffusion Wave-Motion into his Graveyard – "I can activate a Magic card from your Graveyard, and I choose Card of Demise."

The virtual image of Double Spell changed into Card of Demise, and Yugi took four cards from his deck. He studied them for a while, formulating all the possible moves and seeing which one was the best. Finally, he knew what he was going to do.

"I set two cards facedown and summon Queen's Knight (1500/1600) in attack mode," he announced.

Kaiba's hand moved to his facedown Trap card, but then he hesitated. _I can wait for something better,_ he thought.

"Queen's Knight," Yugi said, "attack his Giant Germ."

"What is he up to?" Joey wondered.

Yugi's yellow and red armored warrior easily cut through Kaiba's pulsating germ. "That was a foolish move," Kaiba said. "First, because my Giant Germ was destroyed in battle, it does damage to your Life Points."

The remnants of the germ dissolved into purple particles that attacked Yugi, causing him to grimace (Y LP: 2500). "Then," Kaiba continued, "I can summon two more Giant Germs from my deck."

"Yes," Yugi said, "but they're summoned in attack mode."

"Huh?"

"I play the Magic card Berserker Soul," Yugi said. "After I discard my entire hand, I then draw cards from the top of my deck and send them to the Graveyard. If I draw a monster card, my Queen's Knight can attack one more time. If I don't, then Berserker Soul's effect ends." He slid Berfomet into the Graveyard and then took the top card from his deck. "I've drawn Valkyrion the Magna Warrior," he said, sliding it into his Graveyard. "Queen's Knight, attack again!"

The warrior leapt across the field and destroyed another of Kaiba's monsters. Kaiba winced from the wake of her attack (K LP: 800) while more poisonous particles attacked Yugi (Y LP: 2000). _This is bad,_ Kaiba thought. _My Life Points won't hold out as long as his._

Yugi drew another card from his deck. "Jack's Knight," he announced. The red knight rushed and destroyed the last of Kaiba's monsters (K LP: 300) (Y LP: 1500). There was nothing left to protect him.

Everyone held their breath as Yugi reached his hand to his deck and slowly drew a third card. He looked at it and then flipped it around to show everyone else. "Exchange," he said before adding it to his Graveyard. "That ends my turn."

Kaiba growled and drew a card. "I summon Slate Warrior (1900/400)," he said. "Your combo may have almost defeated me, but it left a weak monster on the field for me to destroy."

"I prepared for that, too," Yugi said. "Because you just summoned a monster, I can activate my Trap card, Dark Renewal." The Trap card revealed itself and summoned a purple coffin onto the field. "By sacrificing a monster on both sides of the field, I can revive a Spellcaster from my Graveyard."

The coffin opened and two beams of red light dragged Slate Warrior and Queen's Knight inside it. The lid shut and then opened again to reveal the Dark Magician.

"Nice move," Kaiba said, "but I have a Trap to deal with that as well. Activate Clone. This card gives me a perfect copy of your magician." A second Dark Magician appeared on Kaiba's field and stared down the first one. "You can't attack without destroying your own monster in the process, and you've already used your Magic Formula and Spellbinding Circle, so you can't alter either monster's attack strength."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Yugi said.

"My turn's over," Kaiba said, "and Card of Demise's effect activates, though I have no cards in my hand to discard."

"My turn," Yugi said, drawing a card. _Kaiba's right,_ he thought. _I can't attack until I can make my Dark Magician stronger._ "I'll pass."

Kaiba drew a card and smiled broadly. "I've drawn Monster Reborn first," Kaiba said, "and you know what that means. Come back, my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

The three-headed dragon roared and stepped onto the field, dwarfing the Dark Magicians next to it. "Yes, brother!" Mokuba shouted.

"Ultimate Dragon," Kaiba said, "obliterate Dark Magician with Neutron Blast."

A ball of brilliant white energy started forming between the Ultimate Dragon's three mouths. Yugi worriedly pushed a button on his Duel Disk. "I activate Zero Gravity," he said. "This changes the mode of every monster on the field."

Blue-Eyes Ultimate stopped its attack, wrapped its wings in front of its chest, and ducked its heads behind its wings. Both Dark Magicians also assumed a defensive posture.

Kaiba made a sound of agitation. "You may have saved yourself this turn," he said, "but now what will you do? Even in defense mode, my Ultimate Dragon is stronger than your Dark Magician. On my next turn, I'll just attack you again."

"Then I must defeat your dragon this turn," Yugi said, taking a card from his deck. He smiled when he saw what it was. "And I can. I play the Equipment Magic card Excalibur on my Dark Magician."

A long, silver sword appeared in the purple magician's left hand. He raised it above his head, gave out a triumphant yell, and felt power from the sword flow into him (Dark Magician: 5000/2100).

"Woah!" Joey shouted. "His attack strength doubled!"

"It can't be," Kaiba said. "There must be some drawback to that card for it to be so powerful."

"There is," Yugi said. "If I draw a card, Excalibur is instantly destroyed. However, its other effect allows me to skip drawing a card at the beginning of my turn, so the only way for you to destroy it is to make me draw a card."

"Or to play Mystical Space Typhoon," Kaiba added.

"Yes, but unless that's your facedown card, you can't save your dragon this turn. Dark Magician, attack his Ultimate Dragon!"

The magician crossed the sword with his staff, causing a ball of multi-colored energy to form. Then the energy arced out and engulfed Kaiba's Blue-Eyes. The dragon roared in pain before shattering.

Murmurs came from the audience as Kaiba's strongest monster was destroyed. "Very good, Yugi," Kaiba said. "My facedown card wasn't able to save my dragon, but it will do something just as useful. I activate Wish of Final Effort."

The pieces of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon dissolved into shimmering blue sparkles that danced around Kaiba. "What did that card do?" Tristan asked.

"When one of my monsters is destroyed," Kaiba explained, "I gain Life Points equal to the attack strength of the destroyed monster."

"But that's 4500 points!" Tea exclaimed.

"More Life Points won't protect you against my monster," Yugi said.

"I know," Kaiba replied (K LP: 4800). He drew a card from his deck and placed it onto his Duel Disk. "I summon Twin-Headed Behemoth (1500/1200) in defense mode and end my turn."

_It all depends on that card,_ Kaiba thought, looking at Yugi's hand. _Which one is it?_

"My turn," Yugi said. "By Excalibur's effect, I don't draw a card. Now, Dark Magician, attack your clone."

Kaiba's Dark Magician vanished in another blaze of rainbow energy. He laughed and pointed his finger at Yugi. "Just what I wanted to see," he said triumphantly.

"What?" Yugi asked.

"That card in your hand isn't a monster," Kaiba replied. "Otherwise, you would have summoned it to help destroy my Twin-Headed Behemoth. Therefore, since you can't draw any more cards without losing your power-up, I only have one monster of yours to defend against."

"That's true," Yugi said. "As long as you can keep drawing monsters, you can defend against my attacks. But, how long can you draw monsters?"

Kaiba drew a card from his deck and grimaced. "I was right, wasn't I," Yugi said.

_If only I had drawn this card a few turns earlier,_ he thought. "I end my turn."

"Dark Magician, attack his Behemoth."

"But my Behemoth can revive itself," Kaiba said. The purple dragon (1000/1000) crawled up from the smoke of Dark Magician's attack and crouched on the field again.

"But it can only do that once," Yugi said. "I set one card facedown so that I don't have to discard it for Card of Demise's effect and end my turn."

Kaiba drew another card. _A useless Trap,_ he thought. "Your turn."

"Dark Magician," Yugi called, "destroy his Behemoth for good this time."

Kaiba winced as his last monster was obliterated. _One last draw,_ he thought.

"You've defeated his Dark Magician before," Mokuba said under his breath. "You can do it again."

"My move," Kaiba said, whipping a card from his deck. He smiled when he saw that it was just the one he needed. "I play the Magic card Premature Burial. For the cost of 800 Life Points (K LP: 4000), I can bring one of the monsters in my Graveyard back to the field."

The Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon snarled and shifted nervously in front of the sword-wielding Dark Magician. "But I defeated that monster before," Yugi said, "and I'm still strong enough to do it again."

"I know," Kaiba said, "which is why I will make my dragon evolve into a stronger monster."

_A stronger monster?_ Yugi thought. _Could it be…?_

"I sacrifice my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon to summon the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon," Kaiba shouted. The Ultimate Dragon's skin cracked, letting out shafts of brilliant white light, and then shattered to reveal a glimmering mechanical Blue-Eyes (3000/2500). It shrieked for the crowd and hovered in front of Kaiba.

"Isn't that monster weaker than his Ultimate Dragon?" Tristan asked.

"Yes," Yugi said, "but it gains more power from the dragons in your Graveyard, doesn't it."

"Exactly," Kaiba said, "and there are ten dragons in my Graveyard, so my Shining Dragon gains 3000 more attack points!" The dragon's power conduits glowed bluer and its shriek sounded deeper and more powerful as its attack points climbed (Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon: 6000/2500).

"That's stronger than Yugi's Magician!" Joey exclaimed.

"Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon," Kaiba said, "attack with Shining Neutron Blast."

The Dark Magician cried out and vanished in a flood of brilliant blue energy. Yugi gritted his teeth as the attack spilled over onto him (Y LP: 500). Then the barrage ended, leaving virtual smoke rising from his clothes. His knees trembled for a second, but he forced himself to remain standing.

to be continued...

_To White Mage: To answer your question, it takes place after the Pharaoh's Memory Saga (the manga version, since Kaiba didn't know about it). I suppose it also takes place after the movie, since Kaiba has the Shining Dragon. To be honest, I wasn't thinking too much about timeline placement when I was writing this. I just wanted to write an interesting duel._


	11. Down But Never Out

**Rematch: Yugi vs. Kaiba  
By Cere**

**Chapter 5: Down But Never Out**

"I sacrifice my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon to summon the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon," Kaiba shouted. The Ultimate Dragon's skin cracked, letting out shafts of brilliant white light, and then shattered to reveal a glimmering mechanical Blue-Eyes (3000/2500). It shrieked for the crowd and hovered in front of Kaiba.

"Isn't that monster weaker than his Ultimate Dragon?" Tristan asked.

"Yes," Yugi said, "but it gains more power from the dragons in your Graveyard, doesn't it."

"Exactly," Kaiba said, "and there are ten dragons in my Graveyard, so my Shining Dragon gains 3000 more attack points!" The dragon's power conduits glowed bluer and its shriek sounded deeper and more powerful as its attack points climbed (Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon: 6000/2500).

"That's stronger than Yugi's Magician!" Joey exclaimed.

"Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon," Kaiba said, "attack with Shining Neutron Blast."

The Dark Magician cried out and vanished in a flood of brilliant blue energy. Yugi gritted his teeth as the attack spilled over onto him (Y LP: 500). Then the barrage ended, leaving virtual smoke rising from his clothes. His knees trembled for a second, but he forced himself to remain standing.

"My dragons are superior once again," Kaiba said.

"Don't count my monsters out just yet," Yugi said. "With Excalibur gone, I can draw cards again." He took a card from his deck and showed it to Kaiba. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards."

Kaiba merely nodded from behind his monster. Yugi looked at his two new cards and sighed with relief. "I play Monster Reborn," Yugi said, seriousness again crossing his face, "to bring my Dark Magician back to the field."

"Again?" Kaiba remarked.

"You evolved your monster into a stronger one," Yugi said. "Now I will do the same."

"Is he serious?" Tristan asked. "Can he make his monster stronger than Kaiba's?"

"Your Dark Magician was a bad choice," Kaiba said. "If you had revived your Buster Blader, you may have had a stronger monster than my Shining Dragon."

"I have other ways of doing that," Yugi said, holding up the other Magic card in his hand. "By playing Emblem of Dragon Destroyer, I can move my Buster Blader back to my hand."

"To your hand?" Kaiba said. Then his eyes widened in shock. "It couldn't be. Your facedown card-"

"Is Polymerization," Yugi finished. The card flipped up and revealed a dark vortex that swallowed up Dark Magician and Buster Blader. Lightning flashed from the vortex, causing the audience to ooh and aah. Finally, out of the swirling black winds stepped a warrior sorcerer clothed in gold-rimmed black armor and wielding a staff capped by a jagged blade.

"My monsters have fused together to form the Dark Paladin (2900/2400)," Yugi said, "and my new monster retains the abilities of my Buster Blader. His attack strength increases for every Dragon that either player has used."

The Paladin shouted and raised his staff into the air. More streams of energy arose from Kaiba's Duel Disk and coursed through the blade (Dark Paladin: 8400/2400). The crowd gasped with amazement, and against his will, Kaiba's jaw dropped.

"Dark Paladin," Yugi ordered, "attack Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon."

Yugi's monster leapt across the field. The Shining Dragon roared once for help, but there was nothing Kaiba could do. Dark Paladin thrust his staff into the mechanical dragon's heart and stepped back as it exploded. Kaiba (K LP: 1600) covered his eyes from the blast.

"I must say, Kaiba," Yugi said, "I've been thinking about your deck and I noticed a weakness."

"What?" Kaiba said with a bit of a growl.

"You rely on your monsters' high attack strength too much," Yugi said. "Your method for dealing with a powerful opposing monster is to summon one more powerful. Very few of your cards deal with destroying monsters, and you've used most of those already. Faced with my powerful Dark Paladin, what will you do?"

"Don't underestimate me," Kaiba said.

_I don't,_ Yugi thought. "It's your turn now."

Kaiba drew a card from his deck and looked at it. His mind raced back over the cards Yugi had used during this duel. Finally, one move came to him.

"I set one card facedown and end my turn," he said.

"My turn," Yugi said. _He might be bluffing,_ he thought, trying to read Kaiba's expression. He looked back with unflinching resolve. Yugi looked down at what he had just drawn. _This card won't help me anyway._ He switched the card to his left hand and looked back up.

"Regardless of what your facedown card is," Yugi said, "I won't back down. I have no choice but to attack."

"I know," Kaiba said.

"Dark Paladin," Yugi said, "attack Kaiba directly!"

The audience held their breath as the spellcaster drew its staff back and prepared to attack.

"Now you've triggered my facedown card," Kaiba said as an orb covered in mirrors appeared before him. "Magical Trick Mirror copies the effect of one Magic card in your Graveyard." The mirrors flashed and then revealed copies of Yugi's Monster Reborn.

"But which monster will he revive?" Tristan asked. "His Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon still isn't strong enough to survive."

"Any monster would help defend his Life Points," Tea commented.

"It'll probably be Yugi's Obnoxious Celtic Guardian," Joey said. "It wouldn't be destroyed by Dark Paladin's attack."

"There's a better choice," Kaiba said. From the card's reflection sprang the Monster Reborn symbol, which coalesced into a glowing white ball that faded to reveal a single gigantic bacterial cell (1000/100).

"Giant Germ," Yugi said. "Paladin, stop your attack!" Paladin stopped in mid-jump and leapt back to Yugi's side of the field.

"But that monster's so weak," Tea said.

"It has a special ability, remember?" Joey said. "If Yugi were to destroy it, he'd take 500 points of damage."

"And that's exactly how many Life Points you have left," Kaiba said. "So you can't attack without destroying yourself."

"I'll find a way around it," Yugi said, "and I still have my Dark Paladin."

"I know," Kaiba said, drawing a card. _Now this Trap card might actually be useful._ "I set one card facedown and end my turn."

Yugi drew his card and smiled. "I play Blood Exchange," he said. "In return for half of my Life Points (Y LP: 250), I can draw four cards." He reached his hand to his deck again and took his cards, noting how low his deck was getting. _This duel is entering its final phase,_ he thought.

He added his new cards to the other card in his hand and looked them over. There were several options for him, but one stood out. _This will be very risky,_ Yugi thought, _but I can't underestimate Kaiba._

"Next I'll play Altar of Restoration," he announced. "After removing the top two cards of my deck from play, I can move any card in my Graveyard back to my hand." He took two cards from his deck, glanced at them, and then put them in his pocket as a card slid out of the Graveyard on his Duel Disk. He grabbed this card and immediately placed it in a Magic card slot. "Then I play Dimension Magic. I'm sure you remember what it does."

_Thank you, Dark Paladin,_ he thought as the chained sarcophagus again appeared on the field. _You played your role well._ The Paladin stepped inside and out stepped a spellcaster wearing red armor and wielding a sword and shield.

"I've sacrificed my Dark Paladin to summon Breaker the Magical Warrior (1600/1000)," Yugi said.

Kaiba laughed. "Not only did you get rid of your strongest monster, but since Breaker was Special Summoned, its ability doesn't activate. It gains no more attack points and can't destroy a Magic or Trap card on the field."

"But Dimension Magic's effect destroys your Giant Germ," Yugi replied. Breaker gave a battle yell and swung his sword. An energy arc crossed the field and sliced through Kaiba's Germ, destroying it. "And since your Germ was destroyed by a Magic effect, its ability doesn't activate and I receive no damage. Now, Breaker, attack Kaiba directly."

But Kaiba's smile hadn't left his face. "I activate Ultimate Offering," he said. "For the cost of 500 Life Points, I can summon a monster from my hand. So I pay the Life Points (K LP: 1100) to summon X-Head Cannon."

A blue and yellow robot with a cannon barrel mounted on each shoulder (1800/1500) sprung up in front of Breaker. "Breaker, return to me," Yugi called. His monster obeyed and stopped his attack.

"Like I said, Yugi," Kaiba said, "it was foolish to summon your Breaker that way."

Yugi ignored the comment. "I set one card facedown and end my turn."

"My turn," Kaiba said, drawing a card. His smile grew even broader. "You're finished. I summon Z-Metal Tank in attack mode." Beside his X-Head Cannon materialized a flat yellow robot on tank treads (1500/1300). "And now my two monsters combine together to form the XZ-Tank Cannon!"

A slot opened on Z Tank's back that was just large enough to fit the bottom of X Cannon's torso. Electronic circuits were connected and the two monsters meshed to form a single unit (2400/2100). Yugi tried to keep his determined look in the face of Kaiba's new monster.

"XZ-Tank Cannon," Kaiba said, "attack his Breaker now!"

Everyone held their breath as the machine powered up its cannons and fired at Yugi's monster. Yugi didn't flinch. All attention was rooted on his facedown card.

The card didn't move.

The blast reached Breaker and tore it apart before moving on to hit Yugi directly. Erupting smoke hid his face of defeat (Y LP: 0).

The crowd was stunned. Even Kaiba looked like he was having a hard time believing what had just happened.

"Way to go, brother!" Mokuba shouted. This one cry started a flurry of cheers from the surrounding crowd.

"Aw man," Tristan said.

"You gotta be kidding me," Joey said. "Did he really-"

"Enough!" someone shouted. Everyone turned to see Yugi amidst the dissipating smoke, still standing and still with a determined expression. "Sorry to break up the party," he continued, "but I still have one last Trap card to play."

"You can't," Kaiba objected. "You have no more Life Points!"

"Which is exactly the condition needed to activate this card," Yugi replied. His facedown card swung up to reveal Relay Soul. "Now I can summon one monster from my hand, and I will only lose the game when that monster leaves the field."

"What?" Kaiba said weakly.

_This is my last monster,_ he thought as he grabbed the last card in his hand. _It will not fail me!_

to be concluded...

_Note: Blood Exchange created by Edo Hrzic._


	12. The Last Monster

**Rematch: Yugi vs. Kaiba  
By Cere **

**Chapter 6: The Last Monster**

"Enough!" someone shouted. Everyone turned to see Yugi amidst the dissipating smoke, still standing and still with a determined expression. "Sorry to break up the party," he continued, "but I still have one last Trap card to play."

"You can't," Kaiba objected (K LP: 1100). "You have no more Life Points!"

"Which is exactly the condition needed to activate this card," Yugi replied. His facedown card swung up to reveal Relay Soul. "Now I can summon one monster from my hand, and I will only lose the game when that monster leaves the field."

"What?" Kaiba said weakly.

_This is my last monster,_ he thought as he grabbed the last card in his hand. _It will not fail me!_

"I summon the Dark Magician of Chaos (2800/2600)," he said, slapping the card onto his Duel Disk. The holographic card image appeared before him, and from it sprang a leather-clad magician wielding a deadly chaos staff. His long hair billowed behind him as he glared at Kaiba.

"All right, Yugi," Tea cheered.

"You're definitely still in this one," Joey shouted.

"This is a new version of my old Ritual monster," Yugi said. "He's been given a few new abilities. First, when he's summoned, I can bring one Magic card in my Graveyard back to my hand." He thought for a second and then looked up at Kaiba. "How many cards are left in your deck?"

"Seven," Kaiba said after a quick count.

"Same for me," Yugi said. "Then let's bring an end to this quickly. I return Card of Sanctity to my hand."

"That's fine with me," Kaiba said, grinning his determined grin. "If you make me draw more cards, you'll give me more options to destroy your monster."

Yugi drew a card from his deck and barely glanced at it before directing his attention towards his monster. "Dark Magician of Chaos," he said, "attack Kaiba's XZ-Tank Cannon."

The mechanical contraption fell to a blast of chaos (K LP: 700). "Now my Chaos Mage's second ability activates," Yugi said. "When he destroys a monster, it is not sent to the Graveyard but is removed from play."

"Wait," Joey said. "Why didn't he play Card of Sanctity before attacking? He could have drawn more monsters to attack with."

"Because, Joey," Yugi said, "if I had, Kaiba could have summoned them with Ultimate Offering to protect his Life Points. So now is the best time to play it."

He slipped the card into his Duel Disk and pulled five more from his deck. Kaiba also took his six cards. Yugi scanned through them and saw what he needed to do. "I summon Electromagnetic Turtle in defense mode (0/1800)," Yugi said, "and set four cards facedown on the field."

_I see,_ Kaiba thought. _He needs to if he wants to protect his monster._ He took the last card from his deck and added it to his hand. He felt the blood rushing through his veins, the same feeling he felt every time when one of his duels with Yugi was nearing its end. _Let's see if it's enough to save you._

"It's time for my last combo," Kaiba said, "the one that will finally defeat you."

"Let's just wait for my facedown cards to decide that," Yugi said with a grin.

"I'll start with the Magic card Soul Absorption," Kaiba said. "Now, every time a card is removed from play, I gain 500 Life Points. Then I continue with another Magic card, Soul Release."

"I see," Yugi said. "Now you can remove up to five monsters from either player's Graveyard."

"Don't worry, Yugi. Only my Graveyard will be affected. Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Chaos Emperor Dragon, and my three Blue-Eyes will be removed from the game." His Duel Disk selected those cards in his Graveyard and ejected them while Soul Absorption sent strings of blue energy to Kaiba's Life Point counter (K LP: 3200).

_So that's what he's planning,_ Yugi thought.

"And my final Magic card is Dimension Fusion," Kaiba said. "For the cost of 2000 Life Points (K LP: 1200), I can summon as many monsters that I have removed from play as I can."

"We both can summon monsters," Yugi said. "My Beast of Gilfer (2200/2500) was removed by my Altar of Restoration, so I can summon it to the field in defense mode."

Kaiba laughed. "That makes little difference to me. I summon my Ultimate Dragon, my three Blue-Eyes, and my XZ-Tank Cannon."

Yugi's dark fiend crouched on the field as Kaiba's army assembled on his: the three-headed behemoth, its three components, and the armed robot. _Why XZ-Tank Cannon?_ Yugi wondered. _Ah, I see now. Good move, Kaiba._

"Hey," Tristan said, "why did he summon that cannon monster?"

"It has a special ability," Kaiba explained. "Not as powerful as the complete Dragon Cannon, but just as useful here. I can discard a card from my hand to destroy a facedown Magic or Trap card on the field. So I discard a card to destroy your leftmost card."

The Tank Cannon powered up its lasers and blew apart Yugi's Spider Web Magic card.

"Hey, Joey," Tea said. "What does that card he just destroyed do?"

"If I remember correctly," Joey said, "it lets him bring to his hand a card that was sent to Kaiba's Graveyard during the previous turn." A thought occurred to him. "Kinda a weird card to set if you think about it."

"Indeed," Kaiba said, "which only means one thing: it was a decoy."

"Huh?"

"Yugi only had one Trap capable of protecting him," Kaiba said, "but he knew that I had ways to destroy Trap cards, so he set a bunch of other useless cards to make it harder to destroy the real one. But, my XZ-Cannon can use its ability as long as I have cards in my hand. Go, destroy the middle one!" Yugi's Sage's Stone was wiped away. Kaiba grimaced and sent another card from his hand to his Graveyard. "Now, the one on the right." This time, he was satisfied to see Magic Cylinder destroyed.

"Now I see," Kaiba said. "That card could have directed my attack right back at me. But now it's destroyed, and you have nothing left to protect your Dark Magician of Chaos! Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, use Neutron Blast to win the duel!"

The ball of terrific energy formed between the three mouths. Kaiba's eyes were wide open and a grin stretched across his face as he prepared to annihilate Yugi's monster.

But Yugi's words stopped him. "You may have figured out my strategy," he said, "but you made one key mistake. I didn't have one Trap hidden; I had two."

Ultimate Dragon's attack was released, and Yugi's hand moved towards his last remaining facedown card. "I activate the Trap card Shift," he said, "which lets me exchange the places of two monsters on my field. So, instead of my Chaos Mage, your dragon attacks my Electromagnetic Turtle."

_Oh no,_ Kaiba thought as the mechanical turtle was wiped out by the attack.

"Now my Turtle's effect activates," Yugi said. "During the turn that it's been sent to the Graveyard, I can choose to end the Battle Phase whenever I want, and I choose to end it now!"

The crowd roared with excitement. "Now the rest of Kaiba's monsters can't attack," Tristan said.

Kaiba closed his eyes and bowed his head. _As good as always, Yugi,_ he thought, the traces of a smile still on his face. He opened his eyes and turned them to the last card in his hand. "I set one card facedown and end my turn," he said.

"My turn," Yugi said, drawing the last card in his deck. "I could let you lose by running out of cards to draw, but I won't get a chance to defeat your Ultimate Dragon again. I play the Magic card Pump Up, which doubles my monster's attack strength for one turn."

Chaos Mage roared as waves of chaos energy swirled around him (Dark Magician of Chaos: 5600/2600). "Now, Chaos Mage, attack the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon." Yugi's monster yelled and leapt at the enormous dragon, a sphere of black and white swirling energy forming from the end of his staff.

Kaiba smiled. "Not this time, Yugi," he said. "Activate Ring of Destruction."

The Chaos Mage halted as a metal ring with grenades bolted to it snapped around his neck. He tugged at it with one hand but couldn't remove it in time. Both exploded in a cloud of fire and smoke in the air between Yugi and Kaiba (K LP: 0).

"You lost all your Life Points," Yugi said with a smirk.

"But I destroyed the monster you summoned with Relay Soul," Kaiba said with an equal smirk. "It's a tie."

The holographic images faded as the audience erupted in cheers and crowded around the contestants as they walked towards each other. Yugi offered his hand to Kaiba, and he took it.

"Congratulations," Yugi said, shaking his hand and then letting go. "It was a worthy send-off."

"I still don't believe that was our last duel," Kaiba said. "I still haven't beaten you."

Yugi chuckled and turned around receive his friends' congratulatory gestures (Joey's and Tristan's seemed to be more physical than Tea's were) as Kaiba turned around to face the numerous duelists clamoring to challenge the one who had tied the King of Games.

_Note: Well, since several of you asked, this is the last chapter in this small story arc that I plan to write. However, I do have another larger idea in the works. There's no telling when it'll be ready, but rest assured that I have many more duels to write for you._


End file.
